HTS magnet a world first for "super microscope"

An HTS-110 technician inspects the alignment of the synchrotron magnet poles.

The new magnet, which is known in the industry as a dipole, is the result of cutting-edge research and development by IRL subsidiary company, HTS-110 Ltd. The Chief Executive of HTS-110, Donald Pooke says that the HTS dipole will be the most economical of its kind worldwide, in terms of electricity use, and represents an exciting advance for HTS-110.

“Seventy synchrotrons have been built, or are in the planning stages of being built, around the world, so the market for these energy-saving magnets is substantial. With IRL being a shareholder in the New Zealand Synchrotron Group, which in turn is a shareholder in the Australian Synchrotron Group, HTS-110 is well positioned to take advantage of this.”

Synchrotrons are powerful instruments key to resolving the structure of matter down to the level of atoms and molecules, and have been dubbed “super microscopes” due to their ability to reveal invaluable information in many fields of research, from physics to biology. The magnets are used to bend the electron beam that goes around inside the synchrotron. Synchrotrons are typically hundreds of metres in diameter and cost tens or hundreds of millions of dollars to construct.

The demand for HTS in synchrotrons is driven largely by the potential for substantial energy savings over traditional magnets that use copper coils. In the Brookhaven dipole, HTS-110 has retrofitted HTS coils to replace the conventional power-hungry copper coils.

The new dipole will use less than half of the energy of a copper equivalent, along with substantially less cooling water. By comparison, copper coils consume 15kW of electricity and significant amounts of cooling water during operation. With each synchrotron operating 50 or more dipoles, the energy usage for an entire copper ring is up to 1MW, and the yearly electricity bill is in excess of NZ$1 million.

HTS-110 Senior Designer, Mike Fee says that the new HTS dipole magnet will use two refrigerators to keep the magnet at operating temperature, requiring less than half the energy of a copper system.

“In a full HTS installation a centralised cooling system would realise the full energy savings of 70-80% over copper designs,” he says.