Design and testing of a 10 kV/1 kA superconducting energy pipeline prototype for electric power and liquid natural gas transportation

High Tc superconducting (HTS) DC cable is a promising solution for large-scale power transmission over long distance. However, the refrigeration system for HTS cable is indispensable but undesirable. Considering that LNG (liquid natural gas) is now one kind of clean energy that is used more and more widely, it is possible to integrate HTS cable and LNG transportation into a single pipeline, resulting in a new energy transportation system- a HTS energy pipeline. In this paper, the principle and structure of the energy pipeline are first discussed and then the basic physical properties of the HTS tapes and liquid insulation medium in the LNG temperature range are analyzed. On this basis, a 10 kV/1 kA energy pipeline is designed, fabricated and tested.