Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development
Energy: ENEA spin-off for innovative superconductors takes off
Suprema, an innovative start-up and ENEA spin-off, aims to build Europe's largest plant for manufacturing superconducting tape at high critical temperature. The materials manufactured will be able to transport energy without dissipating heat, in strategic sectors such as energy, smart grid, transportation, medicine and aerospace. Suprema was founded by four researchers from the ENEA Nuclear Energy Department - Andrea Augieri, Fabio Fabbri, Francesco Rizzo and Giuseppe Celentano – who have over 20 years of experience in the study of innovative superconductive materials for scientific and industrial applications. Funded with 900,000 euro by Tech4Planet, the national technology transfer hub for sustainability promoted by the CDP Venture Capital, Suprema is a technological and industrial leader in a strategic sector for energy sustainability and ecological transition.
“We are proud to support Suprema at this crucial stage,” said Claudia Pingue, senior partner and head of CDP Venture Capital Technology Transfer Fund. “This investment is not just a financial commitment, but a strategic choice to enhance European competitiveness in the promising superconducting tape sector”.
“This initiative is a key step in the growth of the superconductivity sector in Europe and helps rebalance the gap in manufacturing with the East, where 90 percent of production is currently concentrated, promoting the continent's technological self-sufficiency and becoming its benchmark,” said Andrea Augieri, CEO of Suprema. “After years of significant research and scientific publications, we are ready to contribute to the technological challenges in energy production and utilization in different sectors, from magnetic fusion to aerospace, from mobility to medical research,” he added.
“This collaboration shows how public research institutions can contribute significantly to the growth of innovative startups and the strengthening of European technological competitiveness, including through partnerships with the private sector,” said ENEA Director General Giorgio Graditi. “Suprema is a source of great satisfaction for us because it enable us to proovide industry with cutting-edge research expertise and infrastructure to support the development and production of superconducting tapes at high critical temperature.”
The ENEA superconductivity laboratory at the Frascati Research Center, with its expertise and skills, has been engaged for over 35 years in research and development activities in the field of applied superconductivity, in the optimization of superconducting materials at high critical temperature, and in the design of superconducting cables and magnets. Involved since 1985 in the European technological research and development program to build the experimental thermonuclear reactor ITER, the laboratory is involved in the study of the magnetic system for future fusion reactors within the Eurofusion consortium and for the DTT (Divertor Tokamak Test facility) project, which is being conducted at the ENEA Frascati Research Center.
Superconducting materials
Superconductors are materials that can conduct electricity without energy loss when cooled below a critical temperature. However, their use is limited by the need to maintain them at extremely low temperatures. Superconductors with higher critical temperatures are more practical and economical, with significant technological simplifications as well. The market for superconductors in Europe is growing rapidly, and high-critical-temperature technology will play a crucial role: in fusion reactors to generate powerful magnetic fields needed to keep plasma stable at high temperatures; to improve power grids, enabling long-distance energy transport without losses; in magnetic-levitation rail transport systems; to improve the quality of diagnostic images in MRI machines; in aerospace for more efficient propulsion systems; and in experiments requiring strong magnetic fields like particle accelerators.
