After AI, energy efficiency is quickly becoming one of the most critical topics in the tech industry. With GPUs and data centers multiplying at a rapid pace, the power required to keep AI infrastructure running is soaring. This raises an important question: could superconductors—particularly high-temperature superconductors (HTS)—offer a way to help curb the rising energy demand?
Ambature, a company specializing in a-axis superconducting technology, says superconductors offer fundamental advantages over traditional semiconductors in certain sensing and computing applications. These benefits include ultra-fast connections with minimal heat loss, more efficient and faster logic circuits for high-performance computing, improved RF systems for telecom, and advanced quantum sensors useful in imaging and navigation where GPS isn’t available. According to the company, computers built with superconductors could be at least 1,000 times more energy-efficient than current models.
Ambature claims its high-temperature superconductor (HTS) technology could massively boost energy efficiency in GPUs. Based on different scenarios, GPUs built with Ambature’s materials could be anywhere from 342 to nearly 17,000 times more efficient than Nvidia’s upcoming 2025 HGX B200 (measured in TOPS per watt). Even under conservative assumptions, the improvement is substantial.
Beyond efficiency, Ambature says superconductor-based computers can operate much faster—potentially reaching speeds of 20–30 GHz, compared to today’s 2–6 GHz. This speed boost is thanks to superconducting interconnects, which have far lower resistance than traditional copper, reducing signal delays. Even current semiconductor-based systems could benefit by integrating superconducting interconnects through advanced packaging techniques like thermocompression bonding.
Other potential advantages of superconductors include smaller data center footprints and no need for water-based cooling systems. So why aren’t they widely used yet? The main barriers have been the need for very low operating temperatures and the complexity of manufacturing.
Ambature says it’s begun to overcome these challenges, particularly in specific sensing and computing areas, and has already achieved some success with trials in military applications—focusing first on quantum sensors and processors.
Josephson junctions are key building blocks in many superconducting technologies, including sensors, quantum computers, and ultra-efficient classical computing systems. Ambature has developed a new type of high-temperature superconducting (HTS) tunnel junction using a-axis cuprates. According to the company, these a-axis junctions offer significant advantages over the more common c-axis designs. These benefits include better performance in areas like operating temperature, speed, device density, tunability, manufacturing efficiency, and overall throughput.
