Full-Scale Design of a Superconducting Wireless Power Transfer System for Maglev-Cobra

Inductive wireless power transfer (WPT) offers a promising solution for contactless energy delivery in transportation systems, particularly for magnetic levitation (maglev) vehicles. This paper presents the design and analysis of a mid-range WPT system for the Brazilian Maglev-Cobra train, integrating a high-temperature superconducting (HTS) receiver coil to enhance efficiency. The system employs a Litz-wire copper transmitter coil at the station and an HTS receiver coil onboard the vehicle, taking advantage of the existing cryogenic infrastructure. A finite element method (FEM) model was developed and experimentally validated using a laboratory-scale prototype, demonstrating accurate prediction of coupling effects, efficiency variation with distance and frequency, and quality factor. Based on this validated framework, a full-scale system was designed considering the train’s energy requirements and the integration of supercapacitors for onboard storage. The optimized design achieves efficient and reliable contactless charging, demonstrating the feasibility of superconducting WPT technology for future maglev transportation systems.