Power electronics group to build converter for superconducting
magnetic energy storage In the VPEC laboratories, Kunrong Wang
(G) works on a design of a power conditioning system to be used
for Superconducting Magnetic Energy Storage (SMES). The Virginia
Power Electronics Center (VPEC) has received a contract from
Westinghouse Inc. and the Office of Naval Research to develop a
system that will convert electrical energy for magnetic storage
by utilities. Under the three-year $700,000 contract, VPEC will
develop a prototype power conditioning system for
Superconducting Magnetic Energy Storage (SMES), which is a
state-of-the-art method for storing electrical energy. A SMES
unit consists of superconducting wire wound into a huge coil,
which is cooled with liquid helium to minus 458 degrees
Fahrenheit so that the flow of electricity meets no resistance.
Direct-current (DC) electricity is fed into the coil, creating a
magnetic field that can store the energy indefinitely. The power
conditioning system being develop