When materials expertise meets the energy of the future
How do a leading stainless steel processor and a high-tech company specialising in power technology fit together?
The answer lies in a shared commitment: to conceive of innovation and translate it into industrial reality.
For decades, BUTTING has stood for the highest level of expertise in stainless steel processing and the development of complex, safety-critical systems. Our client, a high-tech company in the power technology sector, in turn develops and implements superconducting busbar systems – a key technology for the next generation of energy infrastructure.
We are united by the determination to push the boundaries of technology in order to enable real progress in energy-intensive industries.
Rethinking energy
Our client designs and builds superconducting busbar systems that transmit electrical energy with virtually no losses. For numerous energy-intensive sectors where enormous currents are required, this technology opens up previously unmatched potential for savings.
For example, our client is supplying a complete superconducting power transmission system for an aluminium smelter. The rationale is clear: even today, a significant proportion of the electrical energy used in industry is lost in the form of line losses – caused by the electrical resistance of conventional conductors.
The solution lies in superconductivity: under cryogenic conditions, metallic conductors lose almost all their electrical resistance. Electrical energy thus flows with virtually no loss.
From physical principle to industrial reality
The industrial application of this technology places the highest demands on cryogenic engineering, precision and operational safety. In order to reliably generate and maintain the necessary temperatures of around –196 °C on a continuous basis, the company sought a partner with proven expertise in cryogenic systems and complex plant integration.
The company found this expertise at BUTTING CryoTech. The cryogenic engineering specialists from Burgkirchen impressed with their many years’ experience in the design and manufacture of vacuum-insulated pipework, distribution systems and cryogenic components – as well as with their ability to safely integrate innovative technologies into existing industrial infrastructures.
Measurable results. Long-term benefits.
The use of superconducting busbars enables the industry to achieve savings of over 90 per cent in electrical power loss. This is roughly equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of around 20,000 people. At the same time, around 9,000 tonnes of CO₂ are avoided each year.
Another advantage: superconductors require only around ten per cent of the material used in conventional power lines – a crucial factor in view of rising raw material prices and increasing sustainability requirements.
Working together for the energy infrastructure of the future
The partnership with our internationally recognised client exemplifies a new generation of industrial collaboration: open to all technologies, solution-oriented and consistently focused on future markets.
Michael Wiskirchen, Company Development Manager at BUTTING CryoTech, is convinced: “Together with our partner, we are combining expertise in materials, manufacturing and cryogenics with state-of-the-art energy technology – thereby laying the foundations for more sustainable, higher-performance industrial processes.”
This project demonstrates how innovation, industrial excellence and strategic foresight can work together to make the energy infrastructure of tomorrow a reality today.
BUTTING – more than pipes – for a better quality of life
