Researchers at the University of Houston have achieved a major milestone in the race toward practical superconductors, setting a new temperature record under everyday pressure conditions. The advance could eventually help reduce energy waste, lower costs, and improve technologies ranging from power grids to medical imaging.

The team, based at the Texas Center for Superconductivity (TcSUH), reported a transition temperature (Tc) of 151 Kelvin (about minus 122 degrees Celsius, or about minus 188 degrees Fahrenheit). That is now the highest temperature ever recorded for a superconductor operating at ambient pressure. Tc is the threshold below which a material can carry electricity with zero resistance, eliminating energy loss.

The study, led by University of Houston physicists Ching-Wu Chu and Liangzi Deng, was in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Funding came from Intellectual Ventures, the state of Texas through TcSUH, and other organizations.

“Transmitting electricity in the grid loses about 8% of the electricity,” said Chu, professor of physics, TcSUH founding director and the paper’s senior author. “If we conserve that energy, that’s billions of dollars of savings, and it also saves us lots of effort and reduces environmental impacts.”