[Korea.net News, Science / Tech, December 12 2007] Korea develops high-capacity superconducting power storage system

Korea has developed a world-class, high-capacity superconducting magnetic energy storage (SMES) system that can compensate for sudden blackouts, the government said Wednesday (Dec. 12).

The SMES unit developed by state-run Korea Electric Power Research Institute (KEPRI) can store up to and release 1.03 megawatts of electricity in one second, the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy said.

It said the new power storage system could prevent key facilities like hospitals, banks, semiconductor lines and military installations from experiencing power failures that could have serious consequences.

"It also has the highest storage capacity of all SMES developed so far," Kim Hak-do, head of the ministry’s industrial power team said.