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The race to practical superconductors

The race to practical superconductors

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From Liquid-Helium Labs to Room-Pressure Reality

February 20th, 2025: Microsoft Unveils Topological Quantum Processor

Overview

Updated May 19

Scientists just cracked a problem that's plagued superconductor research for decades: how to make these wonder materials work without crushing them under diamond-anvil pressures. In February 2025, teams at SLAC and Stanford stabilized nickelate superconductors at everyday pressure using substrate compression, while University of Houston researchers locked in a superconducting state using a rapid pressure-release technique.

The stakes are enormous. Superconductors carry electricity without resistance and expel magnetic fields — applications range from MRI machines to fusion reactors. For 38 years, high-temperature versions have demanded either extreme pressure or liquid helium cooling at $5 per liter.

Both breakthroughs still require ultra-cold temperatures, and room-temperature superconductivity remains elusive. But they remove one of the two major obstacles between lab curiosities and trillion-dollar infrastructure upgrades. Eliminating the pressure constraint opens the door to real experiments — and eventually, to lossless power grids and fault-tolerant quantum computers.

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Key Indicators

$86B
Global superconductor market by 2030
Up from $7.8B in 2023, an 11.2% annual growth rate
77K
Liquid nitrogen temperature threshold
The magic number that makes cooling 17x cheaper than helium
3
High-profile retractions
Ranga Dias's controversial claims damaged field credibility
~50 GPa
Pressure eliminated
Equal to 500,000 atmospheres—now stabilized at ambient

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People Involved

Harold Hwang
Harold Hwang
Director, Stanford Institute for Materials and Energy Sciences (SIMES)
Leading nickelate superconductor development at SLAC/Stanford
 Paul Ching-Wu Chu
Paul Ching-Wu Chu
Professor of Physics, University of Houston; Founding Director, Texas Center for Superconductivity
Pioneering pressure-quench protocol for ambient-pressure superconductors
 Liangzi Deng
Liangzi Deng
Professor of Physics, University of Houston
Co-developer of pressure-quench protocol

Organizations Involved

SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
DOE National Laboratory
Leading nickelate superconductor research

A DOE facility operated by Stanford, home to groundbreaking particle physics and materials science.
TC
Texas Center for Superconductivity at University of Houston
Research Institute
Developing pressure-quench protocol for commercial applications

Created by Texas legislators after Chu's 1987 YBCO breakthrough, a hub for high-Tc research.
Department of Energy Office of Science
Department of Energy Office of Science
Federal Funding Agency
Primary U.S. funder of superconductor research

The largest U.S. funder of physical sciences research, with $8.6B budget in FY2025.

Timeline

April 1986 February 2025

15 events Latest: February 20th, 2025 · 2 years ago Showing 8 of 15
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  1. Microsoft Unveils Topological Quantum Processor

    Latest Application

    Microsoft announces Majorana 1, first topological quantum processor using Majorana zero modes in superconducting materials.

  2. UH Locks In Superconductivity via Pressure Quench

    Breakthrough

    Chu and Deng publish pressure-quench protocol in PNAS, stabilizing BST's superconducting state at ambient pressure.

  3. Nature Publishes SLAC Room-Pressure Result

    Publication

    SLAC's nickelate breakthrough appears in Nature; superconducts from -247°C to -231°C depending on strain, zero resistance at -271°C.

  4. SLAC Stabilizes Nickelates at Room Pressure

    Breakthrough

    Hwang's team uses substrate-induced lateral compression to stabilize nickelate superconductivity without external pressure.

  5. Harvard Demonstrates Twisted Cuprates

    Research

    Harvard team reports twisted-cuprate technique, offering potential route to high-temperature superconducting diodes.

  6. Nature Retracts Dias Paper

    Retraction

    Nature withdraws Dias's lutetium-hydrogen paper—his third high-profile retraction—citing unresolved data reliability concerns.

  7. LK-99 Declared Non-Superconducting

    Retraction

    Multiple replication attempts fail; Korean Society of Superconductivity committee finds no superconductivity evidence.

  8. LK-99 Frenzy Erupts

    Claim

    Korean team claims copper-doped lead oxide is room-temperature superconductor; viral excitement precedes debunking within weeks.

  9. Dias Claims Room-Temperature Breakthrough

    Claim

    Ranga Dias publishes lutetium-hydrogen compound superconducting at 21°C in Nature, sparking immediate skepticism.

  10. Nickelates Reveal Magnetic Nature

    Research

    SLAC team finds nickelates are intrinsically magnetic, deepening understanding of their superconducting mechanism.

  11. First Electronic Study of Nickelates

    Research

    SLAC publishes detailed electronic structure analysis, confirming nickelates as a new unconventional superconductor family.

  12. Nickelates Join the Family

    Discovery

    Hwang's SLAC team discovers first nickelate superconductor using 'Jenga chemistry' to yank oxygen atoms from thin films.

  13. Chu Crosses the Nitrogen Line

    Discovery

    Paul Chu announces YBCO superconductivity at 93K—above liquid nitrogen's 77K boiling point, making cooling 17x cheaper.

  14. Texas Creates Superconductivity Center

    Funding

    Texas legislature establishes center at UH following Chu's breakthrough, making Houston a superconductor research hub.

  15. Cuprate Revolution Begins

    Discovery

    Bednorz and Müller discover superconductivity at 35K in copper-oxide ceramics, shattering the 23K record that had stood since 1973.

Scenarios

1

Nickelates Reach Nitrogen Temperature by 2027

Possible

Discussed by: Materials science community consensus, SLAC researchers, DOE funding patterns

SLAC's substrate compression technique, combined with chemical doping and optimized thin-film growth, pushes nickelate Tc from current -231°C up to liquid nitrogen's -196°C threshold within two years. This would replicate Chu's 1987 achievement with cuprates—crossing the 77K barrier that makes cooling economically viable. DOE doubles funding for nickelate research to $50M annually. Power grid demonstration projects begin by 2028. The pathway is clear: every previous superconductor family has seen Tc improvements of 50-100K through materials optimization. Nickelates start from a high baseline and have shown systematic progress since 2019.

2

Room-Temperature Superconductor Remains a Mirage Through 2030

Likely

Discussed by: Skeptics citing BCS theory limits, researchers scarred by LK-99 and Dias scandals, Physics World analysis

The February 2025 breakthroughs eliminate pressure requirements but temperatures remain stubbornly cryogenic. BCS theory—which explains conventional superconductivity through electron-phonon coupling—suggests fundamental limits around 200K even for unconventional mechanisms. Nickelates plateau at 150K; pressure-quench protocol works for more materials but none exceed 180K. The field fragments: one camp pursues incremental gains for niche applications (quantum computing, MRI magnets, fusion reactors), while another chases exotic physics (topological superconductors, twisted bilayers). Room-temperature claims after Dias and LK-99 face instant rejection. Progress continues, but slowly—like high-energy physics after the Higgs, solving interesting puzzles without revolutionary breakthroughs.

3

Unexpected Material Class Delivers Room-Temperature Breakthrough

Unlikely

Discussed by: Optimists citing field's history of surprises, machine learning materials discovery advocates, venture capital analysts

Neither nickelates nor pressure-quenched compounds reach room temperature—but a completely different material family does. This follows superconductivity's pattern: cuprates in 1986, iron pnictides in 2008, hydrogen sulfides in 2015, nickelates in 2019. Each surprised experts. AI-driven materials discovery, now screening millions of compounds, identifies a candidate in a previously overlooked class (perhaps organic conductors, heavy fermion systems, or interfacial superconductors). Unlike Dias's retracted claims, this withstands immediate replication. Markets explode: a $5 trillion infrastructure replacement cycle begins. China and US race to secure supply chains for precursor materials. Nobel Prize awarded within two years—the fastest since graphene.

4

Applications Arrive Before Room Temperature

Likely

Discussed by: Industry analysts, Commonwealth Fusion Systems roadmap, quantum computing companies, DOE ARPA-E

The race for room temperature continues, but companies stop waiting. Liquid nitrogen cooling at $0.30/liter and ambient pressure make current superconductors commercially viable for high-value applications. By 2027, superconducting power cables begin replacing copper in dense urban grids where efficiency gains justify installation costs. Fusion reactors—Commonwealth's ARC, China's CFETR—deploy nickelate-based magnets generating 13-tesla fields, enabling compact, economical designs. Microsoft's topological qubit roadmap accelerates using improved superconducting materials. MRI scanners shrink to mobile-unit size. Total addressable market hits $100B annually by 2030 even without room-temperature operation. The field shifts from 'fundamental physics moonshot' to 'incremental engineering optimization,' attracting industrial R&D investment that eclipses academic funding.

Historical Context

3 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.

1986-1987

The 1986-1987 Cuprate Revolution

Georg Bednorz and Karl Müller discovered superconductivity at 35K in copper-oxide ceramics in April 1986, shattering the 23K record that had held since 1973. Within months, Paul Chu pushed the record to 93K using YBCO—crossing liquid nitrogen's 77K threshold for the first time. The community erupted. Bednorz and Müller won the Nobel Prize in 1987, the fastest award in modern physics. Labs worldwide scrambled to synthesize cuprates; Texas created an entire research center around Chu.

Then

Sparked a decade of intense research; dozens of cuprate variants discovered with Tc reaching 133K at ambient pressure (1993).

Now

Cuprates enabled practical applications—superconducting power cables, high-field magnets for MRI and fusion, quantum computers—but never reached room temperature despite 38 years of effort.

Why this matters now

Nickelates are chemically similar to cuprates, raising hopes they'll follow the same trajectory: rapid Tc improvements through materials optimization, eventually crossing practical thresholds even without reaching room temperature.

2022-2023

Ranga Dias Retraction Scandal (2022-2023)

University of Rochester physicist Ranga Dias published a Nature paper in March 2023 claiming a lutetium-hydrogen compound superconducted at 21°C under 1 gigapascal pressure. Eight of 11 co-authors requested retraction, citing issues with material provenance and data reliability. Nature withdrew it in November 2023—Dias's third high-profile retraction. Washington State University launched an investigation for alleged Ph.D. thesis plagiarism exceeding 20%. Physical Review Letters had retracted another Dias paper in August 2023.

Then

Destroyed Dias's reputation; University of Rochester distanced itself; journals implemented stricter data transparency requirements.

Now

Created lasting skepticism toward high-pressure superconductor claims; researchers now face demands for immediate data sharing and independent replication before publication; some worry the scandal has 'damaged superconductivity research' broadly.

Why this matters now

The pressure-quench protocol directly addresses the Dias problem: instead of requiring sustained high pressure (where experimental artifacts can mislead), it aims to stabilize superconductivity at measurable, verifiable ambient conditions—eliminating the 'black box' nature of diamond-anvil cell experiments.

2023-07-22 to 2023-08-15

The LK-99 Viral Debacle (July-August 2023)

A Korean team claimed LK-99—a copper-doped lead oxide—superconducted at room temperature and pressure. Social media exploded with excitement; researchers worldwide attempted replications. Within three weeks, the Korean Society of Superconductivity confirmed it was not a superconductor. Observed magnetic properties came from copper sulfide contamination. Chinese Academy of Sciences delivered the final verdict in November: definitively non-superconducting.

Then

Immediate credibility damage to the field; media painted superconductivity research as prone to hype and false claims.

Now

Established extreme skepticism toward room-temperature claims without extensive replication; journals tightened peer review standards; legitimate researchers now emphasize incremental progress over revolutionary announcements.

Why this matters now

The 2025 SLAC and UH breakthroughs face elevated scrutiny because of LK-99 and the Dias retractions. Both teams deliberately emphasize their results are not room-temperature—they're eliminating pressure constraints while maintaining credibility through conservative claims and rigorous methodology.

Sources

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SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory ScienceDaily University of Houston Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Wikipedia Nature Houston Chronicle American Physical Society News UC Santa Barbara U.S. Department of Energy Nature SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory Wikipedia