Subsea superconductors: The future of offshore renewable energy transmission?

Simple item page
dc.contributor.authorCullinane, Margaret
dc.contributor.authorJudge, Frances M.
dc.contributor.authorO'Shea Michael
dc.contributor.authorThandayutham, Karthikeyan
dc.contributor.authorMurphy, Jimmy
dc.contributor.funderScience Foundation Irelanden
dc.contributor.funderSuperNode Ltd., Irelanden
dc.date.accessioned2022-03-08T16:27:42Z
dc.date.available2022-03-08T16:27:42Z
dc.date.issued2021-12-22
dc.date.updated2022-03-08T16:20:23Z
dc.description.abstractThe European Union has set the ambitious target of becoming climate-neutral by 2050 and reducing greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% before 2030, compared to 1990. Greater energy generation can be achieved by increased reliance on renewable energy, but the transmission of this energy to match supply with demand is a likely bottleneck in maximising renewable energy use. In this paper, we examine medium-voltage DC superconductors as a potential solution for low-loss, high-power transmission of offshore renewables. We look at what has been achieved to date in onshore superconducting cable deployment and what needs to be done for such superconductors to be deployed subsea, with the goals of exporting electricity from offshore wind farms and acting as grid interconnectors. The offshore oil and gas industry represents state of the art in terms of subsea pipe design. This paper explores how the experience of the offshore oil and gas industry can be applied to subsea superconductor cable design and identifies aspects of superconductor design likely to present a challenge to subsea deployment. The key areas identified as requiring research are the development of flexible pipes suitable for cryogenic usage that can withstand the dynamic loading encountered in the marine environment; robust and low-maintenance insulation systems suitable for subsea deployment; and cooling systems to enable pipelines greater than 100 km in length. Although the primary focus of this research is on superconductor cables, the information is also applicable to other subsea conduits requiring cryogenic cooling such as ‘green’ hydrogen.en
dc.description.statusPeer revieweden
dc.description.versionAccepted Versionen
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen
dc.identifier.articleid111943en
dc.identifier.citationCullinane, M., Judge, F., O'Shea M., Thandayutham, K. and Murphy, J. (2022) 'Subsea superconductors: The future of offshore renewable energy transmission?', Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews, 156, 111943 (16 pp). doi: 10.1016/j.rser.2021.111943en
dc.identifier.doi10.1016/j.rser.2021.111943en
dc.identifier.endpage16en
dc.identifier.issn1364-0321
dc.identifier.journaltitleRenewable & Sustainable Energy Reviewsen
dc.identifier.startpage1en
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10468/12825
dc.identifier.volume156en
dc.language.isoenen
dc.publisherElsevieren
dc.relation.projectinfo:eu-repo/grantAgreement/SFI/SFI Research Centres/12/RC/2302/IE/Marine Renewable Energy Ireland (MaREI) - The SFI Centre for Marine Renewable Energy Research/en
dc.relation.urihttps://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1364032121012089
dc.rights© 2021 Published by Elsevier Ltd. This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/en
dc.rights.urihttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/en
dc.subjectCryogenic coolingen
dc.subjectFlexible pipeen
dc.subjectFloating wind energyen
dc.subjectHigh-temperature superconductorsen
dc.subjectMVDC Transmissionen
dc.subjectSubsea superconducting cableen
dc.subjectSuperGriden
dc.subjectThermal insulation systemen
dc.subjectVacuum-insulated pipeen
dc.titleSubsea superconductors: The future of offshore renewable energy transmission?en
dc.typeArticle (peer-reviewed)en
Files
Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
Subsea_Superconductors_Review_Article_AcceptedVersion.pdf
Size:
2.12 MB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Description:
Accepted version
Download
License bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
license.txt
Size:
2.71 KB
Format:
Item-specific license agreed upon to submission
Description:
Download
Collections
Civil and Environmental Engineering - Journal articles
Centre for Marine and Renewable Energy (MaREI) - Journal Articles