A long-distance superconductor race.

A long-distance superconductor race

Widespread commercialization of high-temperature superconductors is probably 10 to 20 years away, according to a report released this month by a White House science advisory committee. To keep apace with Japan, the committee says, "an increase of a few million dollars" in federal research funding will go a long way to encourage more U.S. scientists to focus on superconductivity. The committee also recommends using another $25 or $30 million to form four to six "superconductivity consortia," each involving a university, a government laboratory and private companies. Japan already has two such collaborative efforts, the committee reports. Another set of recommendations -- these by the National Commission on Superconductivity, formed by Congress in August -- is due at the White House and Congress by late February. As of mid-January, however, the commission had yet to convene, according to Perry Lindstrom, technical director of the National Critical Materials Council.