BOC (Murray Hill, New Jersey, U.S.), a supplier of cryogenic gases and related technology, has signed an agreement with Sumitomo Electric Industries to develop, along with SuperPower Inc. (Schenectady, New York, U.S.), a high-temperature superconducting (HTS) cable for the Albany, New York, power grid.

The US$26 million project, which is receiving $19 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Energy and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, calls for BOC, Sumitomo Electric and SuperPower to install a 350-m (1148-ft) HTS cable in the distribution system operated by Niagara Mohawk, a National Grid company.

BOC is investing substantial resources to develop a robust cryogenic system that will be supported using its existing infrastructure. BOC's Remote Operations Center will monitor the cable and cryogenic system.

This project represents several firsts in HTS cable installation: 3.5 times the length of any previously installed HTS cable; the installation will be in a standard utility underground right-of-way (other installations have been within an industrial site or a substation); it addresses future commercialization by including a 30-m (98-ft) YBCO cable section with potential for improved price/performance characteristics; and it demonstrates an underground cable-to-cable joint, which enables long cable runs.
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