Andrea Agugieri, CEO and co-founder of Suprema, explains why the company is suited to accelerate the commercialization of fusions in the production of high-temperature superconducting tapes.
Founded by a group of highly experienced physicists, Spuma, an innovative Italian startup, is already making waves in the clean energy sector with a mission to design and produce high-temperature superconductor (HTS) tapes.
The company is a spin-off from ENEA (National Agency for New Technology, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development). This is a public institution for the energy and environment of Italy. Currently, the four ENEA researchers behind the company – Andrea Aussieli, Fabio Fabry, Francesco Rizzo and Giuseppe Serentano, pool the expertise and resources to build Europe’s largest plants to produce superconducting tapes at high critical temperatures.
Innovation Platform spoke to CEO and co-founder Andrea Agutieri to explore the company of HTS tapes within various applications, its goals and vast possibilities.
Could you explain more about the company about Suprema and your products?
Suprema was established in July 2024 with the goal of realizing a factory for high-temperature superconducting tapes. HTS tapes are a critical component of many applications in the energy sector, from fusion reactors to electrical grids.
All of the co-founders have backgrounds as physicists who previously worked in the fusion department of ENEA. We have been working on HTS tape technology for over 20 years to optimize the technology of our fusion applications and develop it for other applications.
What makes your HTS tape different?
We have noticed that there is currently a great demand for this product, driven primarily by the promotion of fusion energy. He also concluded that there are few people in the world who can carry out all the processes necessary to manufacture HTS tapes.
With over 20 years of R&D on this technology, there are many ideas on how to improve the product and its manufacturing process. This helps reduce the cost of HTS tapes. This is because one of the main problems with this product is currently at high costs.
Use innovative and unique solutions to improve their performance. To improve the performance of this product, the superconducting layer must be nano-engineered. Once you’ve come to the market as a reliable player, you can apply all your years of experience in R&D to further improve your HTS tapes.
What role does HTS tape play in the commercialization of fusion and in the journey towards a more sustainable future?
HTS tapes are an enablement technology for fusion. However, so far, so far, they have only used an older class of superconductors known as low-temperature superconductors (LTS). The problem is that superconducting materials are required to generate high magnetic fields. This is necessary to trap the plasma to achieve the fusion reaction. The power of the fusion reactor is enlarged with the fourth power output of magnetic field strength.
HTS achieves a higher field than LTS, while also enabling higher operating temperatures, which allows for a much more compact fusion reactor, ultimately reducing the cost of power production due to fusion. Having a compact yet still very powerful reactor is the only way to enable commercialization of fusion energy. This is why HTS tapes are an enabled technology, as they can only have a compact fusion reactor of HTS tapes.
How do you work with other organizations to advance and distribute HTS technology?
We were in a very good position and previously worked in most companies and research capabilities aiming to use HTS. By helping them develop products, we have developed long-standing relationships with these companies and are in touch with most fusion startups around the world, both in Europe and the US. These startups are really interested in Suprema because HTS tapes are a key technology in fusion reactors.
We also collaborate with companies in other fields such as mobility, biomedical, scientific experiments, and electric grids. Furthermore, we are part of the European Association for Integration (EFA) and the current European Association, touting HTS tapes as a reliable and powerful solution to improve existing technologies, environmentally, environmentally, and environmentally.
What will be the focus for the near future and beyond?
We are about to start building a factory that produces HTS tapes and aim to set up a fully operational production line by the end of 2027.
We are confident that once we are fully produced, the market can do all of our production. We are also already planning to scale up our production. The first production line is not the arrival point, but the starting point. From there, scale up by opening many other production lines.
This article will also be featured in the 22nd edition of Quarterly Publication.
Source link
