Biological Network Mediated and Transient Liquid Assisted Growth of High Performance Superconducting Tapes

Descrizione del progetto

Sviluppare nastri superconduttori di nuova generazione ad alte prestazioni

I superconduttori ad alta temperatura (HTS, high-temperature superconductor) sono fondamentali per la transizione energetica e le applicazioni avanzate nelle reti elettriche, nei sistemi di stoccaggio dell’energia e nei motori ad alta densità per turbine eoliche e velivoli elettrici; ciononostante, gli attuali processi per la loro fabbricazione richiedono molta energia, tempo e denaro. Sostenuto dal programma di azioni Marie Skłodowska-Curie, il progetto BioNetTLAG mira a sviluppare nastri superconduttori ad alte prestazioni (conduttori rivestiti) utilizzando metodi chimici innovativi e a basso costo. A tal fine, il progetto sfrutterà metodi di deposizione chimica in soluzione che utilizzano sali metallici di aminoacidi dicarbossilici con la velocità di produzione ultra-rapida consentita dalla crescita transiente assistita da liquidi, secondo un approccio che agevolerà l’uso di solventi più ecologici e ridurrà al minimo i residui di carbonio, mantenendo l’omogeneità atomica e il controllo necessari durante la crescita rapida.

Obiettivo

BioNetTLAG aims at developing an advanced methodology to increase the present performances of high temperature superconductors (HTS) prepared from low-cost chemical solution deposition (CSD) methods and under the fast production speed enabled by transient liquid assisted growth (TLAG), to finally boost the market adoption of this methodology. This would expand the currently niche and expensive HTS market, which would help meet the ambitious renewable energy objectives outlined in the EU Green Deal, the Horizon Europe Missions and the UNESCO goals in a timely manner. The reason why CSD-TLAG is not yet a widespread industrial technique is that it is difficult to control the solution chemistry and the carbon removal during the thermal treatments, in order to avoid secondary phases during the ultra-fast growth, which then limit current percolation in the superconducting film. Thus, its compatibility with thick HTS films on commercial flexible metallic substrates has not yet been proven. BioNetTLAG aims to overcome this limitation by developing a new chemical solution using metal salts of dicarboxylic amino acids. Besides being compatible with greener solvents, their high metal coordination capability per carbon content will create a network of inter-metallic bonds in low-carbon solutions, which will maintain the atomic homogeneity and atomic-level control required throughout the fast growth. Advanced in-situ analyses (looking for the first time at both crystalline and amorphous phases and from deposition to growth) will correlate solution chemistry with electrical properties, while enabling faster optimization of the processing parameters that will lead to higher performances. BioNetTLAG also contributes to the transfer of knowledge of HTS industry experience of the fellow to the host group, and to the strengthening of her soft and technical skills in in-situ analyses and automated data processing, that will help turn her into a leading figure in her field.