File photo of the  high-performance type 122 iron-based superconducting wire developed by Ma Yanwei's team in 2014. 

The Institute of Electrical Engineering under the Chinese Academy of Sciences announced on Sept. 9 that a research group led by Ma Yanwei has successfully developed the world’s first 100-meter, iron-based superconducting wire, which is a milestone in the research of iron-based superconducting materials.

Currently, the production of iron-based superconducting wire in the U.S., Japan and Europe falls short of 100 meters. However, manufacturing technology at the 100-meter level is key for the mass application of the material.

Ma's research group created the world's first iron-based superconducting wire in 2008. In 2010, they invented a special technology for welding, which laid a foundation for further improvement of the wire. In 2013, they made the world’s first high-performance iron-based, multi-filament superconducting wire; in 2014, they successfully developed the world's first 10-meter iron-based superconducting wire, taking the first step toward large-scale manufacturing.

More recently, the research team was finally able to get past the technological difficulties in large-scale manufacturing, producing a wire that is 115 meters long.

The successful development of this improved superconducting wire means that China possesses intellectual property that can be applied to medicine, national defense and many other industries.