There is universal agreement between the United Nations and governments from the richest to the poorest nations that humanity faces unprecedented global challenges relating to sustainable energy, clean water, low-emission transportation, coping with climate change and natural disasters, and reclaiming use of land. We have invited researchers from a range of eclectic research areas to provide a Roadmap of how superconducting technologies could address these major challenges confronting humanity.Superconductivity has, over the century since its discovery by Kamerlingh Onnes in 1911, promised to provide solutions to many challenges. So far, most superconducting technologies are esoteric systems that are used in laboratories and hospitals. Large science projects have long appreciated the ability of superconductivity to efficiently create high magnetic fields that are otherwise very costly to achieve with ordinary materials. The most successful applications outside of large science are high-field magnets for magnetic resonance imaging, laboratory

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This paper describes design concept, fabrication, and experimental results of a Persistent-Current Switch (PCS) for High Temperature Superconducting (HTS) magnets. Recently large-size HTS magnets have been fabricated with Ag-sheathed Bi2223 wires. Even in the case of HTS magnets, persistent-current mode has the advantage of maintaining a steady magnetic field for long periods. A PCS for an HTS magnet is a key component to realize persistent-current mode. A PCS for an HTS magnet must work at the same operating temperature as an HTS coil, and electrical resistivity for a PCS conductor should be sufficiently large to reduce the energy dissipation during charge and to shorten the switching time. To satisfy these requirements, a YBCO thin film is adopted for a PCS conductor. The PCS is used in a vacuum and conductively cooled by a cryocooler at around 20 K when the switch is "on". To change the PCS from "on" to "off", the temperature of the PCS is increased to around 100 K by electrical heaters. A new design concept of a PCS for an HTS magnet is introduced. And the test results of rated current operation, switching operation and persistent-current operation are shown.

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