For a long time, although China has been a global leader in the research and application of second-generation high-temperature superconducting (HTS) tapes, it remained heavily reliant on imported high-performance metallic substrates—the core raw material. This dependence not only resulted in high procurement costs but also exposed the domestic superconducting industry to risks such as long lead times and unstable supply chains, hindering its healthy development.
Recently, this situation is undergoing a fundamental shift. A research team at the Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences (IMR-CAS), has successfully developed ton-scale, high-purity Hastelloy C276 using their proprietary material purification technology. They have overcome a series of critical technical bottlenecks—including forging, rolling, and heat treatment—and achieved batch production of C276 substrates measuring 2,000 meters in length and just 0.046 mm in thickness. This milestone marks a major breakthrough in the localization of key materials for HTS tapes in China.
In this wave of localization, Ningbo Yongcheng Metal Materials Technology Co., Ltd. plays an indispensable role as a vital link in the industrial chain. The company actively participates in industry-academia collaboration, co-developing a novel second-generation HTS substrate with Anhui University of Technology (Patent Publication No. CN118398273A). Moreover, through its own process innovations, Yongcheng has resolved several “choke-point” challenges in substrate manufacturing.
This collaborative innovation model—integrating industry, academia, and research—is accelerating the transition of domestically produced substrates from laboratory prototypes to industrial-scale production. Substrates developed by IMR-CAS have already been validated by leading Chinese superconductor manufacturers such as Shanghai Superconductor and Eastern Superconductor, with the resulting HTS tapes achieving critical current performance on par with those made on imported substrates. Meanwhile, Yongcheng Metal continues to advance in alloy composition control and ultra-thin strip rolling. Its substrates feature precisely engineered chemical compositions that ensure excellent mechanical properties even at extreme thinness.
The significance of localization extends far beyond cost reduction. Strategically, a self-reliant substrate supply chain ensures that China’s construction of major national scientific infrastructures—such as nuclear fusion reactors and particle accelerators—is no longer vulnerable to external constraints. Technically, domestic substrates now match or even surpass imported counterparts in key metrics. Notably, after exposure to 900°C high-temperature annealing, they retain tensile strengths exceeding 1,200 MPa—providing a wider processing window for subsequent high-temperature superconducting film deposition.
Through sustained R&D investment, companies like Yongcheng Metal are not only enhancing their own core competitiveness but also strengthening the entire domestic superconducting ecosystem. As ton-scale production capacity comes online and large-scale applications expand, the localization rate of HTS substrates will continue to rise—laying a solid materials foundation for China’s superconducting technology to evolve from “catching up” to “keeping pace,” and ultimately to “leading the world.”
