On December 1st of this year, European Advanced Superconductors GmbH & Co. KG (EAS) in Hanau, Germany, acquired the Powder in Tube (PIT) Technology used for the manufacturing of high current superconductors from ShapeMetal Innovation (SMI) in Enschede, Netherlands.
 
Superconducting materials conduct electricity without resistance below a certain temperature, an effect which was discovered 1911 in the Netherlands by Heike Kamerlingh Onnes, a Professor of physics at the University of Leiden. Since then, superconducting technology has become a multibillion dollar industry worldwide, with state-of-the-art clinical Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and analytical instrumentation being unthinkable without superconductivity.´
 
Research into advanced superconductors, which can carry very high electrical currents virtually without losses, allowing more compact devices and the generation of stronger magnetic fields, is a highly competitive area today. EAS is one of the leading providers of such materials worldwide and has closely collaborated with SMI in the development of advanced PIT technology since 2003.
 
Several important milestones have been achieved in that time, including the production of conductors with over 3000 meters in one single length and achieving critical current densities of up to 2500 A/mm2 in high magnetic fields. A highly demanding order by the European Fusion Development Agreement (EFDA) has been carried out, necessary for the qualification for the International Thermo-Nuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) in Cadarache, France. For this prestigious and large superconductivity project the contract was recently signed by over 10 Nations, including Japan, Russia, China, the U.S. and the EU.

EAS now intends to market, sell and further develop PIT-superconductors. “Our collaboration with SMI over the last few years has produced outstanding results. The PIT-superconductor fits perfectly well into our product portfolio and we see very strong interest in the market in this technology for some very demanding applications”, states Dr. Burkhard Prause, Managing Director at EAS.

Following the successful collaboration and sale, Jan Lindenhovius, former Managing Director and Head of Development at SMI, will now join EAS to provide his expertise in the production and future development of this technology.