Page "Superconducting magnetic energy storage" Paragraph 5

There are several reasons for using superconducting magnetic energy storage instead of other energy storage methods.

The most important advantage of SMES is that the time delay during charge and discharge is quite short.

Power is available almost instantaneously and very high power output can be provided for a brief period of time.

Other energy storage methods, such as pumped hydro or compressed air have a substantial time delay associated with the energy conversion of stored mechanical energy back into electricity.

Thus if a customer's demand is immediate, SMES is a viable option.

Another advantage is that the loss of power is less than other storage methods because electric currents encounter almost no resistance.

Additionally the main parts in a SMES are motionless, which results in high reliability.