Europe signs contract for 62 tonnes of copper strands
The European Domestic Agency for °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ has signed a contract for the manufacture of 62 tonnes of chromium-plated copper strand, which will form part of °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ's superconducting magnet system. This contract marks the launch of Europe's first in-kind hardware technological contribution to the °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ Project.
°ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ will operate with a special type of high purity chromium-plated copper strand. It has high conductivity at extremely low temperatures, and limits the temperature inside the cable in case of superconductivity loss. Strands of such kind are mostly used in superconductors and cryogenic applications.
Superconducting and copper strands are twisted together to build high-amperage cables made of more than 1,000 individual strands. The cables are inserted into a stainless steel jacket and compacted to their final diameter in order to be used in the toroidal field coils of °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ. It is estimated that about 180 tonnes of pure copper strands will be needed for these coils.
The contract for the production of the chromium-plated copper strand was awarded to Luvata, an international metals, manufacturing and technology supplier based in Finland with a workforce of over 8,000 people in 18 countries.