{"id":185789,"date":"2023-08-16T19:32:50","date_gmt":"2023-08-17T02:32:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextbigfuture.com\/?p=185789"},"modified":"2023-08-16T19:34:58","modified_gmt":"2023-08-17T02:34:58","slug":"us-navy-shifting-to-electric-ships-and-superconducting-engines-if-costs-lowered","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextbigfuture.com\/2023\/08\/us-navy-shifting-to-electric-ships-and-superconducting-engines-if-costs-lowered.html","title":{"rendered":"US Navy Shifting to Electric Ships and Superconducting Engines If Costs Were Lowered"},"content":{"rendered":"

The US Navy has built and tested 5 Megawatt and 36.5 megawatt superconducting engines over ten years ago.<\/a> All of the tests were good and the specifications were met. They need to lower the cost and increase reliability. Test superconducting motors have been built for large wind power systems. If the LK99 superconductors were real or could lead to room temperature superconductors or even better nitrogen cooled superconductors then the US Navy would be all over it.<\/p>\n

The Navy has an overall effort to switch to electric ships. They are working on all kinds of dielectrics and other advanced electrical systems. Going electric will let them separate the general ship power and propulsion platform from the payload and weapons. This is like the skateboard for an electric car that has electric engines and batteries.<\/p>\n

The Navy and many others are eager to use superconductors once they can solve the high cost issues.<\/a> Room temperature superconductors are eagerly awaited because even with liquid nitrogen cooling are still being used for major applications despite the cooling system.<\/p>\n

There is an Israeli company working to have a non-electrical outdoor air conditioning system using liquid nitrogen. This would cost about $50-60 to operate each week. Today nitrogen is produced as a byproduct when hospitals and medical services make pure oxygen.<\/p>\n