Since June 2024, SNU has been conducting the first phase of joint research with the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) to develop high-current high-temperature superconducting (HTS) cables for use in the next-generation fusion power plant STEP (Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production). Phase 1 (June 2024 – March 2025, total budget of £1 million, approx. 1.8 billion KRW) was successfully completed, and the two sides have signed an agreement to launch Phase 2 (July 2025 – March 2027, total budget of £3.6 million, approx. 6.6 billion KRW). In collaboration with domestic companies Powernix Co., Ltd. and Standard Magnet Co., Ltd., the HTS fusion cable prototype was completed and, in July 2025, tested at the internationally recognized SULTAN facility at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL). The prototype reached the facility’s operational limits, demonstrating both current-carrying capacity and durability. Since the launch of SULTAN in 1992, the cable achieved the highest performance ever recorded for an HTS cable: withstanding a current of 91 kiloamperes (kA) under an external magnetic field of 10.9 tesla (T), as well as electromagnetic forces of 100 tons per meter. Remarkably, the cable showed no performance degradation even after more than 1,400 repeated tests. Under the Phase 2 agreement, the research will focus on enhancing the performance of the Phase 1 prototype and scaling up to longer cable lengths. The partnership is also expected to expand bilateral collaboration on next-generation compact fusion technology, while advancing the reliability and technology readiness level (TRL) of high-temperature superconducting magnets, a critical enabling technology for fusion. The Applied Superconductivity Laboratory (ASL) at Seoul National University (Director: Professor Seung Youn Hahn, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, SNU) announced on the 29th that, through Phase 1 joint research with UK Industrial Fusion Solutions (UKIFS)—the organization leading the “STEP (Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production)” program under the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA)—it has successfully developed the world’s highest-performance and most reliable high-temperature superconducting cable for fusion. Building on this achievement, the lab has signed a Phase 2 cooperation agreement to develop long-length HTS cable technology. STEP is the United Kingdom’s flagship national strategic infrastructure project led by the UKAEA, with the goal of constructing a fusion power plant by 2040. The program consists of three phases, and in the current first phase (2019–2025), £220 million (approximately 390 billion KRW) has been invested in the conceptual design of a prototype fusion power plant based on high-temperature superconducting magnets, to be built at West Burton in Nottinghamshire. From June 2024 to March 2025, the Applied Superconductivity Laboratory (ASL) at SNU and the UKAEA carried out joint research worth £1 million (approximately 1.8 billion KRW) to develop high-current high-temperature superconducting cables, a core component of fusion systems. Figure 1. Conceptual design of the STEP (Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production) fusion reactor under development by the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) (Source: https://step.ukaea.uk/) With the rapid spread of artificial intelligence technologies and the soaring demand for data centers, global power shortages are becoming increasingly severe. In this context, fusion energy is drawing attention as a game-changing clean energy source for solving future energy crises, and research in this field is actively underway worldwide. In particular, the “magnetic confinement” method, which controls plasma—the fuel for fusion—using the strong magnetic fields generated by superconducting magnets, has been adopted in multiple fusion systems, including Korea’s KSTAR and the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER). However, the large scale of superconducting magnets and the resulting massive construction costs remain major factors pushing back commercialization timelines to beyond 2050. To overcome these limitations, Professor Seung Youn Hahn of SNU’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering has proposed “no-insulation high-temperature superconducting” technology, which is expected to enable “compact fusion” by reducing the size of conventional superconducting magnets to less than one-fifth, while dramatically cutting construction and operating costs. Against this backdrop, more than 13 trillion KRW of private investment has flowed into fusion research worldwide in recent years, fueling the creation of numerous startups and public–private partnership initiatives. In July 2024, Korea also announced its “Fusion Energy Realization Acceleration Strategy,” establishing a plan to launch a new program worth 1.2 trillion KRW to advance fusion technologies, including high-temperature superconducting magnets. As part of this global strategic momentum, the STEP program aims to bring forward the commercialization of a fusion power plant with a capacity of more than 100 MW—enough to supply electricity to over 200,000 households—into the 2040s. Figure 2. Configuration of a high-temperature superconducting magnet system for fusion: (1) wire; (2) cable; (3) magnet; (4) system. The UKAEA–SNU joint research agreement will begin with cables and expand to magnets and full systems. (Source: Wire – https://sunam2004.tradekorea.com/main.do; Cable – provided by SNU; Magnet – K. J. Chung et al., Design and Fabrication of VEST at SNU, presented at the 16th International Workshop on Spherical Torus, Sep. 27–30, 2011; System – https://actu.epfl.ch/news/welcome-mast-upgrade-a-new-fusion-device/) Figure 3. Preparation of tests in liquid nitrogen for the high-current HTS cable specimen developed by the Applied Superconductivity Laboratory (ASL) at SNU for STEP fusion magnets, prior to transport to the SULTAN facility. Since June 2024, in the first phase of collaboration, SNU worked with the UKAEA to design a 3.6-meter high-current HTS cable prototype. The prototype was fabricated directly by the Applied Superconductivity Laboratory (ASL) at SNU, using cable manufacturing equipment developed in-house and installed at the College of Engineering’s Power Research Institute. In July 2025, the completed prototype underwent performance evaluation at SULTAN (SUpraLeiter Test ANlage), the world-renowned superconducting cable testing facility at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL). The cable achieved the maximum operational conditions available at SULTAN: an external magnetic field of 10.9 T and an operating current of 91 kA, equivalent to an electromagnetic force of 100 tons per meter. Moreover, under cyclic loading conditions (85 kA, 10.9 T, approximately 94 tons/m), the cable endured over 1,400 charge–discharge and deliberately induced quench cycles—including 1,389 repetitions—without any observable performance degradation. These results demonstrate the prototype’s outstanding performance and reliability, marking an unprecedented achievement for HTS cables since the SULTAN facility began operations in 1992. Notably, the performance indicators had been predicted in advance using HTS cable analysis software independently developed by ASL at SNU, and the SULTAN tests validated the accuracy of these predictions, lending the results even greater significance. Figure 4. (Left) View of the SULTAN testing facility managed by the Swiss Plasma Center (SPC) under EPFL. The facility is enclosed in the light green frame on the right side of the image. (Source: https://www.epfl.ch/research/domains/swiss-plasma-center/research/superconductivity/page-97675-en-html/) (Right) Data recorded when the cable reached its maximum current: representative voltage (dark blue) and current (blue) plots in the high-field (10.9 T) region, showing that the cable reached 91 kA at around 20 K. Behind this achievement lies the work of the PRISM research group (High-Temperature Superconducting Magnet Fundamental Technology Research Center), led by Visiting Professor Sang Jin Lee of SNU’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. The program is supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea under the Ministry of Science and ICT and coordinated by the Applied Superconductivity Laboratory (ASL) at SNU. Launched in 2022 with the vision of “One nation as one laboratory, one university,” PRISM is a five-year initiative with a total budget of 46.4 billion KRW, involving 27 industry, academic, and research institutions and more than 220 researchers. The group has systematically classified high-temperature superconducting magnets—applicable across a wide range of manufacturing industries—into four structural types and seven core technologies for the first time worldwide, and is developing key foundational technologies for large-scale production and premium-grade applications. In the joint research with the UKAEA, SNU led a response team composed of PRISM-affiliated companies Powernics Co., Ltd. (CEO: Kwang Hee Yoon) and Standard Magnet Co., Ltd. (CEO: Jae Min Kim). The team worked in close collaboration throughout the entire process of cable prototype design, fabrication, and evaluation, producing outstanding results. This achievement is also linked to the Ministry of Science and ICT’s “Deep Science Startup Activation Program” and is expected to lead to the creation of specialized domestic companies for fusion-dedicated HTS systems, centered on the response team. Furthermore, this collaboration is being carried out as part of the Seoul National University Energy Initiative (SNU-EI, Director: Professor Sung Jae Kim, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering). In the context of fusion power—which is anticipated to play a crucial role in future electricity generation—the project is expected not only to advance HTS magnet technology but also to accelerate practical fusion commercialization. This will be achieved through partnerships with energy experts from the Production Division of SNU-EI, integrating core enabling technologies, reviewing technological limitations, and preparing for potential “unknown unknowns.” It also aims to establish a foundation for expanded cooperation and spinoff projects in the future. Building on the achievements of Phase 1, SNU and the UKAEA have signed a Phase 2 technology development agreement (total budget of £3.6 million, approx. 6.3 billion KRW, July 2025 – March 2027) to enhance the performance and extend the length of the developed HTS cable prototype. In this second phase, the collaboration aims to design HTS cables tens of meters in length that can be applied to the actual STEP fusion system, while also developing long-length manufacturing techniques and cryogenic performance evaluation systems in preparation for commercialization. In addition, the two institutions are expanding the scope of cooperation to include the design, fabrication, and evaluation of prototype TF (Toroidal Field) HTS magnets, a core component of the STEP fusion system. Through these efforts, the partnership is expected to deepen bilateral collaboration in compact fusion technology and contribute to advancing technical excellence. [Broadcast Coverage] SBS: “Unprecedented Figures”… Development of ‘World’s Best’ Superconducting Cable (https://news.sbs.co.kr/news/endPage.do?news_id=N1008236071&plink=ORI&cooper=NAVER) YTN: “Accelerating Fusion Commercialization”… Successful Development of High-Temperature Superconducting Cable (https://www.ytn.co.kr/_ln/0105_202508292038129467) The Korea Economic Daily TV: Korea Did It… Development of ‘World’s Best’ High-Temperature Superconducting Cable (https://www.wowtv.co.kr/NewsCenter/News/Read?articleId=A202508270708) Source: https://ece.snu.ac.kr/ece/news?md=v&bbsidx=56813 Translated by: Dohyung Kim, English Editor of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, kimdohyung@snu.ac.kr...
Aug 29, 2025