What happens when industry demands the impossible? Superconductors step in

Energy transformation is not simply a fuel switch – it’s a redesign of the systems that underpin economic growth and national energy security.

Electricity demand is rising sharply, driven by the electrification of end uses and the rising demand from data centres and AI. At the same time, power systems integrate a growing share of renewables, yet the infrastructure carrying that power still incurs losses.

Every inefficiency in grids, motors, cooling systems and industrial processes carries a cost, in capital, emissions and resilience. Incremental improvements are no longer enough to meet the pace of transformation required.

This is why technologies that once seemed “impractical” or confined to research labs are moving rapidly into focus. Superconductors, once associated with niche applications, are emerging as a critical enabler of more efficient, resilient and higher-performing systems. By radically reducing energy losses and unlocking huge gains in power density, efficiency and system design, they have the potential to strengthen energy security, improve system efficiency and accelerate emissions reductions across electricity networks, industry and digital infrastructure.

As recent research has shown, innovation has already cut projected emissions by 40% over the past decade, and superconductors could be a major accelerant in the decade ahead.

Superconductors are “materials with zero electrical resistance below a specific temperature”. Therefore, an electric current can flow through them indefinitely without energy or heat losses.

An expanding group of startups is focused on developing superconducting wiring, systems and materials, while corporate, IOs (international organizations) and government programmes are stepping up their support for the sector.

Why should we care and how could the corporate sector get more involved? Here are three reasons that this is essential for the decarbonization of our economies:

Traditionally, copper and aluminum have been used as conductors in electrical grids. They have powered the industrial era, but their properties mean that there is a consistent 5-10% of the world’s electricity lost as heat during transmission. Superconductors can dramatically reduce this loss, which could translate into major system-level cost and carbon savings.

As emphasized by the International Energy Agency (IEA), every percentage point of avoided electricity transmission loss translates to the reduction of millions of tonnes of CO₂ annually. For large utilities and grid operators, this means fewer generation plants, lower fuel consumption, and lower long-term infrastructure and maintenance costs.

Superconductors can carry up to about 100 times more power than copper cables of the same thickness, allowing for more compact, efficient cables that transmit renewable energy to the cities and communities they serve. They also enable smaller, lighter-weight motors and generators for the transportation sector.

For the renewables sector, this is a crucial step change that would help wind and solar power – which typically feature peak-prone and geographically distributed power flows – move gigawatts over long distances with minimal losses, thus smoothing out variability.

From a system-level perspective, IEA’s Electricity Grids and Secure Energy Transitions report, underlines that grids need to grow around 20% faster over the next decade to meet net-zero pathways. Superconductivity has the potential to contribute cost reductions over the medium and long term.

Superconductors are the enabling layer for fusion, hydrogen and ultra-high density energy use of today’s AI economies:

At UpLink, the early-stage innovation engine of the World Economic Forum, we are committed to bringing together the ecosystems that breakthrough solutions need to scale. By establishing coalitions of visionary corporate leaders to demonstrate private-sector demand for superconductor solutions, alongside capital providers and IO/government enablers, we can help these technologies play a massive role in striving for a net-zero future.

Who are the actors that could drive corporate demand for the push for superconductors? There are a few that can truly drive the needle, notably the technology companies who are investing heavily in data centres and would benefit from superconducting cabling: Microsoft, Google, Meta, AWS, etc.

Electric utilities and grid operators will also be focused on integrating high-temperature superconductor cables and grid modernization that can hopefully be a stimulus for the renewable energy revolution. Other sectors who are following this space closely include ports, airports, hydrogen, steel, healthcare and the growing fusion industry, each of whom will be looking for efficiency gains superconductors can provide.

Here are three startups and scaleups that are attracting attention in this space from government, corporate and investment sectors:

With a handful of leading academic institutions – such as MIT, University of Houston, Oxford, ETH Zurich, among others – pushing research on superconductors to new levels, it’s now up to corporate leadership, government funding, private capital and public awareness to help ensure that these materials are nurtured to help offset further reductions in projected emissions over the next 10 years. As a recent event at CERN underscored, pushing superconductors past their development tipping point and toward their full societal potential will require coordinated action and accelerated collaboration across all stakeholders.

Corporate leaders have a decisive role to play in moving superconductors from promise to deployment. This starts with expressing clear demand, by joining pre-competitive consortia that define future pathways for superconducting systems. It means co-funding pilots and demonstrators in space-constrained or high-value settings such as inner-city grids and data-centre campuses, where efficiency gains matter most. It also requires a willingness to share risk, through small but strategic venture or corporate investments in startups developing superconducting technologies.

Finally, progress depends on aligning ecosystems, connecting innovation funds, capital providers, utilities, startups and industrial adopters to build resilient supply chains as the technology matures. The question is no longer whether superconductors work, but whether industry is ready to lead and turn technical readiness into coordinated action.