A 200 kW MgB2 Induction Heater Project

Conventional induction heating of aluminium billets is one of the large-scale electrotechnical apparatus with absolutely the poorest energy efficiency. Industrial state-of-the-art copper based induction heaters in the 200 - 1500 kW range have energy efficiencies of only 55-60%. By employing MgB2 superconductors and using a novel electro-magnetic design the energy efficiency has the potential to become around 90%. In the new design the aluminium billet is rotated in a DC magnetic field generated lossless by MgB2 superconducting coils. Recently, a European project has been launched aiming at the design, building and testing of a 200 kW MgB2 based aluminium billet induction heater. The project runs over a three year period with the overall goal to build a low-loss 200 kW induction heater with a quality of the temperature profile in the billet comparable to conventional heaters. The heater will be tested at an aluminium extrusion plant