Conductor requirements for high-temperature superconducting utility power transformers

High-temperature superconducting (HTS) coated conductors in utility power transformers must satisfy a set of operating requirements that are driven by two major considerations—HTS transformers must be economically competitive with conventional units, and the conductor must be robust enough to be used in a commercial manufacturing environment. The transformer design and manufacturing process will be described in order to highlight the various requirements that it imposes on the HTS conductor. Spreadsheet estimates of HTS transformer costs allow estimates of the conductor cost required for an HTS transformer to be competitive with a similarly performing conventional unit.