Physicists from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and the University of Rochester have made a breakthrough in the long sought-after quest for a room-temperature superconductor, what they call the “holy grail” of energy efficiency.

Scientists have long searched for a material that is superconductive. While there has been a few successes, achieving superconductivity at room temperature has been elusive. But now, scientists have created a material that can conduct electricity efficiently at close to room temperature up to 15° Celsius or 59° Fahrenheit.

Developing materials that are superconducting—without electrical resistance and expulsion of magnetic field at room temperature—is the “holy grail” of condensed matter physics, says Ranga Dias, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering and of physics and astronomy at the University of Rochester.

After years and years of work, we are finally here. A team of researchers from the University of Rochester in New York has just synthesized the first superconducting material , a mix of hydrogen, carbon and sulfur, which manages to show its special characteristics even at room temperature . A tool, therefore, that could revolutionize the world of technology and electronics, with significant benefits both in terms of costs and environmental. “Sought after for more than a century,” comments study author Ranga Dias , “these materials are sure to change the world as we know it. Our discovery will open the door to many potential applications ” . The studyhas just been published in Nature.

A superconducting material allows electrical current to flow through it with perfect efficiency, without wasting energy.

For decades, physicists have dreamed of discovering a material that could effortlessly convey electricity at everyday temperatures, a feat that would save gargantuan amounts of energy and revolutionize modern technology.

For the first time ever, scientists have demonstrated that superconductivity, a state that enables electrical charges to pass through materials with no resistance, is possible at room temperature.

First discovered in 1911, superconductivity gives materials two key properties. Electrical resistance vanishes. And any semblance of a magnetic field is expelled, due to a phenomenon called the Meissner effect.