ULTRASUPERTAPE aimed to demonstrate an unprecedented approach for fabrication of low cost / high throughput / high performance High Temperature Superconducting (HTS) tapes, or Coated Conductors, to push the emerging HTS industry to market. The breakthrough idea was the use of Transient Liquid Assisted Growth (TLAG) from low cost Chemical Solution Deposition of Y, Ba, Cu metalorganic precursors to reach ultrafast growth rates. The key concept relied on the discovery of the mechanisms for the decomposition of barium carbonate and the non-equilibrium kinetic growth through the transient liquid formation even for thick films via fast heating or fast PO2 step. The use of synchrotron x-ray diffraction for the analysis of the in-situ growth process at fast acquisition times was essential. ULTRASUPERTAPE succeeded to boost Coated Conductor growth rate up to outstanding limits while high performances at low and high magnetic fields were reached, by smartly designing and engineering the local strain and electronic state properties of nanocomposite superconducting films prepared from nanoparticle colloids. Innovative Additive Manufacturing and Digital Printing methodologies were combined with combinatorial chemistry to fabricate gradient compositional samples and data were used in machine learning algorithms for fast screening process conditions. In collaboration with two ERC-PoC grants, IMPACT and SMS-INKS, an integrated system capable of addressing the entire fabrication process, from solution synthesis, deposition, ultrafast epitaxial crystallization of the superconducting phase, market assessment and explotation plan will be available. A trade secret and a patent have been filed and first technology transfer actions were already executed. Wise ideas and technology are emerging from the TLAG process promoting long length and large area production or localized fast growth of functional epitaxial films or multilayer structures. We are excited to enter the market with TLAG and collaborate in the new energy paradigm with innovative superconducting solutions.
