Conductor Selection for SMES Applications

The rationale for selection of a stabilized conductor for large scale superconducting magnetic energy storage applications (SMES) is discussed in this paper. Areas discussed are 1) stability, 2) AC losses, 3) manufacturability, 4) cooldown and warm-up, 5) protection, and 6) reliability for utility applications. It is concluded that a monolithic aluminum stabilized superconductor cooled in a bath of 1.8 K helium is the optimal choice.