Imagine an airplane that leaves no carbon trail — lighter, more powerful, and flying with zero emissions. That future just got closer, thanks to a new international roadmap that shows how special materials called superconductors could transform how we travel.
Superconductors might sound like science fiction, but they've been around for a century. The problem? They only work when cooled to incredibly cold temperatures, near absolute zero — about minus 180 degrees Celsius. That made them too bulky and expensive for most uses, so they've mostly been stuck in hospital MRI machines.
But now, new advances are changing the game. A team led by Dr. Wenjuan Song at the University of Glasgow has published a landmark roadmap showing how superconductors could help the transport industry cut its emissions by a huge amount. Transport currently creates about one-quarter of all energy-related carbon pollution worldwide.
More than 60 researchers and engineers from over 40 companies, universities, and research institutes contributed to the paper, published in the journal Superconductor Science and Technology. Their work shows how superconductors could make electric motors up to four times more powerful than they are today.
Here's why that matters: today's electric motors can deliver 5 to 10 kilowatts of power per kilogram of weight. For big airplanes, that's not enough — it's way too heavy. But superconducting motors currently in development could deliver 20 to 40 kilowatts per kilogram, making emission-free electric aircraft suddenly achievable.
"Electric aircraft don't have to be a dream anymore," Dr. Song said. "This roadmap shows the pathway to commercially available aircraft flying with net-zero emissions."
One major milestone already reached: Airbus's ASCEND project powered on a 500-kilowatt superconducting powertrain in late 2023, and its Cryoprop demonstrator is nearly complete. The company's ZEROe program continues developing hydrogen-powered aircraft, with liquid hydrogen potentially serving double duty as both fuel and coolant to keep superconductors working efficiently.
Maritime shipping, which creates about 3.5 to 4 percent of global emissions, is another target. Rail transformers and spacecraft magnets could also benefit from the technology.
Dr. Mohammad Yazdani-Asrami, another author from the James Watt School of Engineering, compared the situation to solar power's breakthrough moment. "We've seen with the rapid expansion of solar power in recent years that tipping points toward greener energy can and do happen," he said. The roadmap argues that superconductors need three things to reach their own tipping point: better materials, cheaper materials, and industry willing to adopt them.
The next decade will be crucial in making that happen.