The race to practical superconductors

Overview

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. Both still require ultra-cold temperatures, but eliminating the pressure constraint opens the door to real experiments—and eventually, to lossless power grids and fault-tolerant quantum computers.

In This Story

3 People

Nickelates Reach Nitrogen Temperature by 2027

3 Context

The 1986-1987 Cuprate Revolution

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

High-profile retractions

Ranga Dias's controversial claims damaged field credibility

~50 GPa

Pressure eliminated

Equal to 500,000 atmospheres—now stabilized at ambient

Interactive

Exploring all sides of a story is often best achieved with Play.

Ever wondered what historical figures would say about today's headlines?

Debate Arena

Two rounds, two personas, one winner. You set the crossfire.

People Involved

Harold Hwang

Director, Stanford Institute for Materials and Energy Sciences (SIMES) (Leading nickelate superconductor development at SLAC/Stanford)

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

Professor of Physics, University of Houston (Co-developer of pressure-quench protocol)

Organizations Involved

SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory

DOE National Laboratory

Status: Leading nickelate superconductor research

A DOE facility operated by Stanford, home to groundbreaking particle physics and materials science.

Texas Center for Superconductivity at University of Houston

Research Institute

Status: 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

Federal Funding Agency

Status: Primary U.S. funder of superconductor research

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

Timeline

Microsoft Unveils Topological Quantum Processor
Application

Microsoft announces Majorana 1, first topological quantum processor using Majorana zero modes in superconducting materials.
February 20th, 2025
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.
February 10th, 2025
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.
February 4th, 2025
SLAC Stabilizes Nickelates at Room Pressure
Breakthrough

Hwang's team uses substrate-induced lateral compression to stabilize nickelate superconductivity without external pressure.
December 19th, 2024
Harvard Demonstrates Twisted Cuprates
Research

Harvard team reports twisted-cuprate technique, offering potential route to high-temperature superconducting diodes.
February 2024
Nature Retracts Dias Paper
Retraction

Nature withdraws Dias's lutetium-hydrogen paper—his third high-profile retraction—citing unresolved data reliability concerns.
November 7th, 2023
LK-99 Declared Non-Superconducting
Retraction

Multiple replication attempts fail; Korean Society of Superconductivity committee finds no superconductivity evidence.
August 15th, 2023
LK-99 Frenzy Erupts
Claim

Korean team claims copper-doped lead oxide is room-temperature superconductor; viral excitement precedes debunking within weeks.
July 22nd, 2023
Dias Claims Room-Temperature Breakthrough
Claim

Ranga Dias publishes lutetium-hydrogen compound superconducting at 21°C in Nature, sparking immediate skepticism.
March 8th, 2023
Nickelates Reveal Magnetic Nature
Research

SLAC team finds nickelates are intrinsically magnetic, deepening understanding of their superconducting mechanism.
July 25th, 2022
First Electronic Study of Nickelates
Research

SLAC publishes detailed electronic structure analysis, confirming nickelates as a new unconventional superconductor family.
January 20th, 2020
Nickelates Join the Family
Discovery

Hwang's SLAC team discovers first nickelate superconductor using 'Jenga chemistry' to yank oxygen atoms from thin films.
August 28th, 2019
Chu Crosses the Nitrogen Line
Discovery

Paul Chu announces YBCO superconductivity at 93K—above liquid nitrogen's 77K boiling point, making cooling 17x cheaper.
February 1987
Texas Creates Superconductivity Center
Funding

Texas legislature establishes center at UH following Chu's breakthrough, making Houston a superconductor research hub.
1987
Cuprate Revolution Begins
Discovery

Bednorz and Müller discover superconductivity at 35K in copper-oxide ceramics, shattering the 23K record that had stood since 1973.
April 1986

Scenarios

Nickelates Reach Nitrogen Temperature by 2027

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.

Room-Temperature Superconductor Remains a Mirage Through 2030

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.

Unexpected Material Class Delivers Room-Temperature Breakthrough

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.

Applications Arrive Before Room Temperature

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

The 1986-1987 Cuprate Revolution

1986-1987

What Happened

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.

Outcome

Short Term

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

Long Term

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 It's Relevant Today

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.

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

2023-07-22 to 2023-08-15

What Happened

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.

Outcome

Short Term

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

Long Term

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 It's Relevant Today

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.

Ranga Dias Retraction Scandal (2022-2023)

2022-2023

What Happened

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.

Outcome

Short Term

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

Long Term

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 It's Relevant Today

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.