The transmission of electricity over the in-grid superconducting power cable system started in Albany, New York State on the local date of July 20th 2006. This system at the Albany High-Temperature Superconducting (HTS) Cable Project (hereinafter referred to as the "Albany Project") uses high-temperature superconducting cable manufactured by Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd. First in the world to be used in the practically used underground power grid, the superconducting cable system undergoes a demonstration test for the next six months. A ceremony will be held on the local date of August 2nd to celebrate the successful completion of the construction of the Albany Project HTS cable system, with honorable guests including New York's Governor Pataki. Sumitomo Electric President and CEO Masayoshi Matsumoto will also attend the ceremony.

[ Albany Project ]
Funded by the US Department of Energy (DOE) and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), the Albany Project is a superconducting cable system demonstration project currently underway in Albany, the state capital of New York. Between National Grid's Riverside and Menands substations (about 3 kilometers apart), 350 meters of superconducting cable is installed and connected to the underground electricity grid.

Project partners	:	SuperPower, Inc. (Main contractor) Sumitomo Electric Group (Manufacture and installation of superconducting cable, cable end boxes in air and cable joint, and operation of cable system) National Grid (Utility) The BOC Group (Cryogenic system/ Monitoring)
Total project cost	:	About US$27 million (US$13.5 million funded from DOE, US$6 million funded from NYSERDA, and the rest is shared among the project partners)
Project period	:	From November 2002 to November 2007

In the United States, under the Energy Policy enacted last year, the modernization of power grid is positioned as a national issue. The plan to construct a powerful superconducting cable network covering the entire nation by 2030 is under review. As a part of this plan, three DOE-funded superconducting cable projects are currently underway. The Albany Project is the first among the three projects to complete the construction of cable system and commence demonstration test in real power grid.

[ Superconducting Cable System Specifications and Other Information ]
The Albany Project superconducting cable system is comprised of 350 meters of 34.5 kV/800 A three-cores-in-one-cryostat type ("3-in-One") superconducting cable (Photo 1), the three-cores-in-one-cryostat type cable end-boxes in air(Photo 2) and the world's first three-cores-in-one-cryostat type cable joint (Photo 3). The system also includes a measurement system and a cryogenic system. The superconducting cable is installed in an underground duct about 150 millimeters in diameter and the joint are installed at the end 30 meters from the south end of the cable. The cable uses 70 kilometers of Sumitomo Electric's dynamically-innovative bismuth superconducting wire (DI-BSCCO) manufactured using the company's proprietary "Controlled-over-Pressure (CT-OP)" sintering method.

Photo 1. "3-in-One" superconducting cable	Photo 2. "3-in-One" cable end-box	Photo 3. "3-in-One" cable joint

[ Reference ]
"3-in-One" (three-cores-in-one-cryostat type) superconducting cable:
Sumitomo Electric's "3-in-One" (three-cores-in-one-cryostat type) superconducting cable is designed to have three cable cores stored in one cryostat. This structure is more advantageous than conventional ones in that cable diameter can be made narrower and heat invasion is less. The three cable cores are stranded by the "loose stranding" method to suppress thermal elongation/contraction that occurs when a superconducting cable is cooled and experiences a large temperature difference between room temperature and liquid nitrogen temperature (boiling temperature -196 degrees C).


- "3-in-One" are the trade names of Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd.