Superconductivity—the ability of certain materials to carry electricity with zero resistance—is already a £7 billion annual market, projected to double by 2030, and this Centre for Doctoral Training will train the next generation of researchers and engineers to push those technologies further. The problem is that developing practical superconducting devices—from MRI machines to fusion reactors to levitating trains—requires people who can work across physics, materials science, engineering, and chemistry. Currently, that interdisciplinary skill set is scarce. The CDT brings together the Universities of Bristol, Oxford, and Cambridge, plus 26 industrial and international partners, to give students both technical training and real-world project experience. If the CDT succeeds, it will supply the workforce needed to turn superconducting prototypes into deployed technologies. That means cheaper, higher-resolution MRI scanners for better medical diagnosis; lighter, more powerful motors for electric aircraft; efficient cables for transmitting wind power; and the superconducting magnets essential for fusion energy reactors. The impact is not immediate consumer convenience—it is the infrastructure that could decarbonise energy and improve healthcare at scale.
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The aim of this Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) is to equip students with essential interdisciplinary skills needed by industry and to deliver cutting edge research in the area of superconductivity. The unique properties of superconducting materials mean that they can deliver revolutionary technologies which will help to decarbonize our energy production and improve healthcare. Superconductors are also an essential component in many quantum devices such as those used for quantum computing. The promise of limitless carbon free power promised by magnetically confined plasma nuclear fusion reactors can only be realised using superconducting magnets. Other major applications under development, which also will contribute to reducing carbon emissions include superconducting cables for electrical power transmission, light and powerful motors and generators for electric and hybrid power aircraft, superconducting magnetically levitating trains and high efficiency generators for wind-power generators. Development, manufacture, and deployment of these technologies needs people with the skills our CDT will deliver. Superconductors are also an essential component in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machines used for medical diagnosis and this forms the majority of the current £7 billion per annum market in superconductors that is projected to double by 2030. Development of improved superconducting materials will transform MRI both in terms of reducing cost and thereby availability and enabling higher magnetic field strengths that increase resolution and enhanced diagnostic capabilities. We will capitalize on the UK's established leadership in superconductivity through the development of a CDT with cohort-based training that will engender teamwork and an interdisciplinary approach in close collaboration with industry and international research facility partners. This is crucial to drive the development of these groundbreaking superconducting technologies and to empower our graduates with the combination of technical and personal skills sought after by industry. The CDT brings together graduate superconductivity training in the Universities of Bristol, Oxford and Cambridge across their Physics, Material Science, Engineering and Chemistry departments. The CDT is created in partnership with 26 industrial companies, international research institutions and other educational institutions. Our training programme includes lecture-based learning, extensive practical training in relevant techniques and experimental methods as well as real-world experience at implementing the knowledge gained within projects based at one of our partners. The CDT will form a nucleus for the UK superconductivity community offering training and networking opportunities to those outside of the CDT.
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