High-temperature superconducting (HTS) systems can deliver compact, high-power-density magnets and motors for hydrogen-electric aviation, magnetic refrigeration for hydrogen liquefaction, fusion, medical imaging and maglev transport. However, they require cryogenic cooling, typically to 20–30 K. Liquid hydrogen (LH2) is uniquely attractive because it provides cooling in the optimal temperature range for rare-earth barium copper oxide (REBCO) conductors and is already present as fuel in emerging hydrogen-electric systems. Yet the cryogenic engineering science needed to design and control LH2-cooled HTS systems remains underdeveloped, particularly the HTS magnet performance and stability, and the dynamic response of cryogen supply and boil-off flows under variable heat loads.
This three-year project will establish a dedicated cryogenic cooling platform centred on a custom REBCO HTS magnet supplied by HTS-110, bonded to oxygen-free high conductivity (OFHC) copper conduction interfaces within an instrumented vacuum cryostat. The platform will first operate with liquid nitrogen (LN2) at 77 K for safe commissioning, then with LH₂ at 20 K to characterise HTS cooling under conditions relevant to hydrogen-electric propulsion and magnetic refrigeration. A real-time digital twin will intersect sensors data with physics-informed cryogenic models to enable predictive maintenance, anomaly detection and decision support mechanism. The project will also develop a hydrogen sensor test chamber to evaluate novel nanomaterial-based sensors that will be developed at Swinburne University to be utilised under sub-zero temperature including cryogenic temperatures.
Expected outputs include a comprehensive LN₂/LH₂ thermal-hydraulic dataset covering cooling time, cooling capacity, temperature uniformity, supply and boil-off flow rates, pressures, transport current, magnetic field and quench behaviour under steady and variable heat loads representative of aviation and magnetic-refrigeration duty cycles. The project will deliver a validated digital twin, a feasibility study of hydrogen gas sensing technology for cryogenic applications, and a scalable foundation for future integration with a low/high-temperature proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell, enabling closed-loop cryogenic–electric–thermal testing for hydrogen-electric systems.
Partners: Central Queensland University, Swinburne University of Technology, The State of Queensland acting through the Department of State Development and Infrastructure
Project Leader: Assoc. Prof. Saif Al Ghafri
Duration: 3 years