Suborbital aerospace, orbital, and lunar power distribution networks are desiring lightweight electrical conductors. Cryogenic hyperconducting aluminum (99.99999%+ pure) is a competitive option to HTS cables at 20 K, but hyperconducting aluminum cables require mechanical reinforcement for many applications, reducing current density, and this strengthening must be compatible with aluminum’s annealing schedule to prevent impurity diffusion. AlBeMet 162 is a lightweight Al-Be nanocomposite which can be processed similar to aluminum alloys, and similar to hyperconducting aluminum, does not experience the extreme quench characteristics seen in superconducting composites. In this research, we shall investigate the electrical conductivity of cryogenic AlBeMet 162, and compare its mass specific engineering current carrying capacity with high RRR copper, hyperconducting aluminum composites, and a high current density HTS coated conductor cable. The electrical conductivity will be examined as a function of magnetic field up to 3 T to examine magnetoresistance and possible anomalous magnetoresistance. The possibility of AlBeMet 162 as a lightweight and low AC‑loss superconductor composite stabilization will be examined analytically.

Acknowledgments. This research was funded by the NASA University Learning Initiative (ULI) #80NSSC19M0125, the Air Force Research Laboratory/Aerospace Systems Directorate, and AFOSR LRIR #18RQCOR100.