The rapid increase in the demand for electric power and the reduced load factor in Japan have encouraged the development of SMES (superconducting magnetic energy storage) systems for utility power grid applications. The Ministry of International Trade and Industry launched an 8-year national project to develop and establish the component technologies required to realize a small scale 100kWh/40MW SMES and its practical application in the utility network. The key component technologies developed in the project consist of a superconducting coil, a quench detection system, a power converter, a circuit breaker and a persistent current switch. A model coil for the core of the SMES system has been designed and fabricated. Performance tests in cooperation with The Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute were successfully completed in 1996. The following paper describes in detail the test results and their subsequent evaluation. The model coil is presently installed in the test facilities at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, in the United States, for long-term excitation testing. The tests are part of an international cooperation plan with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).
