How close are we to room-temperature superconductors?Can electricity flow with no resistance at room temperature?
or, simply: Can electricity flow with no resistance at room temperature?or, precisely: How close are we to room-temperature superconductors?
Superconductivity near room temperature has only been credibly observed under megabar pressures; every ambient-pressure room-temperature claim has failed replication or been retracted.Materials squeezed to crushing pressures lose resistance when nearly warm, but nothing verified works in an ordinary room - and the loudest recent claims turned out to be wrong.
Ambient record inches to 151 K via pressure quench - A University of Houston team reported pressure-quenched Hg-1223 retains superconductivity to about 151 K after the applied pressure is removed - raising the ambient record, but still roughly 140 K below room temperature and not yet widely replicated. Next up - Target: an independently replicated ambient room-temp material (expected 2035).
State of playWhere room-temp superconductors stands right now
The current stage, the honest metric, and the single threshold that gates the next stage. Each threshold is a falsifiable claim with a named next test.How far up the ladder we've climbed, the honest verdict, and the one thing blocking the next step.
Materials squeezed to crushing pressures lose resistance when nearly warm, but nothing verified works in an ordinary room - and the loudest recent claims turned out to be wrong.Superconductivity near room temperature has only been credibly observed under megabar pressures; every ambient-pressure room-temperature claim has failed replication or been retracted.
Beat the freezing point of water, even inside a viseSuperconductivity above 0°C at any pressure Next test: Independent diamond-anvil replication of any superhydride claim above 273 K
The thresholds that gate the next stageWhat has to happen next
Each threshold is a falsifiable claim with a named next test; the gap chart shows how far today's metric sits from the goal.Each row is one thing that has to be proven — and how far today's number is from the target.
The record behind the verdict
Major events set large; context events set small but never hidden. Everything below the TODAY rule is a schedule, not a result.
The low-temperature era
The low-temperature era moved the field from superconductivity discovered to nb3sn enables practical high-field magnets. The results narrowed the next question without closing it.
The cuprate high-Tc revolution
The cuprate high-Tc revolution moved the field from cuprate revolution begins to mercury cuprate sets 133 k ambient record. The results narrowed the next question without closing it.
The high-pressure hydride era
The high-pressure hydride era moved the field from hydrogen sulfide superconducts at 203 k - under extreme pressure to csh 288 k 'room-temperature' claim (later retracted). The results narrowed the next question without closing it.
The ambient-pressure push
The ambient-pressure push moved the field from nickelate shows signatures near 80 k to target: an independently replicated ambient room-temp material. The results narrowed the next question without closing it.
Events outside the declared eras
Events outside the declared eras moved the field from nature retracts the csh room-temperature paper to target: a manufacturable room-temperature conductor. The results narrowed the next question without closing it.
Why the meters read the way they do
The learning curves and comparisons that justify each threshold's percentage. Every series is measured, with the source event linked in the timeline above.
Read the evidence more closely
Definitions, system boundaries and experimental caveats behind the headline record.
01The first nickelate evidence was filamentary
The original La₃Ni₂O₇ result was explicitly reported as “signatures”: resistance and mutual-inductance susceptibility supported superconductivity, but later work found low or filamentary superconducting fractions in imperfect samples. Pressure creates an Fmmm phase with strong Ni d(x²−y²) and d(z²)-O 2p mixing.
02Disorder separates bulk from filaments
In La₂PrNi₂O₇, the orthorhombic-to-tetragonal transition occurs near 11 GPa; reducing intergrowths and apical-oxygen disorder was central to obtaining bulk rather than filamentary superconductivity.
03A 45 K onset is not zero resistance
The ambient nickelate-film result depends on roughly 2% coherent in-plane compressive epitaxial strain. Its 45 K onset is not a 45 K zero-resistance or Meissner temperature: those occur near 9 K and 8 K respectively.
04Film defects complicate attribution
A separate La₃Ni₂O₇ film study found onsets of 26-42 K but zero resistance only around 2 K, with stacking faults, grain boundaries, oxygen stoichiometry and secondary Ruddlesden-Popper phases complicating attribution.
05Onset, zero resistance and Meissner differ
The 96 K La₂SmNi₂O₇−δ figure is an onset under 26.8 GPa. The strongest combined bulk evidence was obtained under slightly different conditions: onset 92 K, zero resistance 73 K at 21.6 GPa, and Meissner response near 60 K at 20.6 GPa.
06Hydride samples contain mixed phases
Spatial X-ray mapping of (La,Y)H₁₀ resolved coexisting cubic and hexagonal micron-scale domains-approximately 42% cubic and 58% hexagonal at 153 GPa-showing why phase identity, strain and pressure gradients complicate hydride critical-temperature assignments.
07The 274 K anomaly is not a verified Tc
The La-Sc hydride paper’s reproducible superconducting-diode and SQUID-like effects occur at 233 K; its 274 K resistance anomaly was only tentatively attributed to a separate lower hydride phase and is not a verified critical temperature.
If the remaining tests pass
Downstream capabilities, drawn dashed because they depend on results not yet in.
Who is building it-and what the money saysCapital, institutions and the global race
The teams doing the work, where they are based, and whether the money points to real delivery or only a plan.Company finance, public programmes, institutional leadership and market evidence-kept separate from valuations, forecasts and announced capacity.
This is still primarily a laboratory race, not a startup market. High-pressure hydrides and nickelates have raised transition temperatures, while commercial firms sell cryogenic superconducting tape and wire. No validated room-temperature, ambient-pressure material exists, so market forecasts for today's superconductors do not measure this goal.
Who is building itCompanies, laboratories and programmes
Max Planck Institute for Chemistry high-pressure group
GermanyEstablished the hydrogen-rich high-pressure route, including H3S superconductivity above 200 K.
Hemley Research Group
USASynthesizes and measures high-pressure hydrides and other candidate superconducting materials.
Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences
ChinaExplores quantum materials under high pressure, including bulk nickelate superconductivity.
| Player | Country | What they are doing | Funding | Named investors | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Max Planck Institute for Chemistry high-pressure grouplab | Germany | Established the hydrogen-rich high-pressure route, including H3S superconductivity above 200 K. Group leader Mikhail Eremets died in 2024; the replicated hydride result remains foundational. | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | Source · mpic.de |
| Hemley Research Grouplab | USA | Synthesizes and measures high-pressure hydrides and other candidate superconducting materials. | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | Source · hemley.lab.uic.edu |
| Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Scienceslab | China | Explores quantum materials under high pressure, including bulk nickelate superconductivity. | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | Source · english.iop.cas.cn |
| International Center for Quantum Materials, Peking Universitylab | China | Studies unconventional superconductivity and collaborates on strain-stabilized nickelate films. | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | Source · icqm.pku.edu.cn |
| High Temperature Superconductors, Inc.company | USA | Develops coated-conductor tape using known cryogenic high-temperature superconductors. This is manufacturing progress for cryogenic HTS, not a room-temperature material. | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | Source · energy.gov |
Where every number comes from
5 sources — every figure on this page traces to one.
- Drozdov et al., Nature 569 (2019) - LaH₁₀ at 250 Knature.com
- Nature retraction note - N-doped lutetium hydride (2023)nature.com
- Phys.org (Nov 2023) - myth of room-temperature superconductivity in LK-99 is shatteredphys.org
- Ko et al., Nature 638 (2024) - ambient-pressure nickelate filmsnature.com
- Phys.org (Mar 2026) - Hg-1223 quenched to 151 K at ambient pressurephys.org