Researchers at the University of Houston have reported a new highest superconducting transition temperature at ambient pressure, reaching 151 K (-122°C) using a “pressure quench” method on a mercury-based cuprate. Reported in March 2026, the result breaks a 33-year-old ambient-pressure record and matters because most higher-temperature superconductors still require extreme pressures that limit practical use.

Bullets

• That beats the previous ambient-pressure record of 133 K, set in 1993, ending a 33-year plateau.
• The team used a pressure quench technique: apply high pressure, cool, then release pressure while preserving the improved state.
• The material was HgBa2Ca2Cu3O8+δ (Hg-1223), a mercury-based copper-oxide superconductor.
• Researchers say the result was achieved at ambient pressure, avoiding the need to maintain extreme compression during operation.
• This is still far from room temperature, but it narrows the
  gap for practical superconductivity research.
• Higher superconducting temperatures have been reached before, including near -13°C, but only under enormous pressures.
• Ambient-pressure advances matter because they could make superconductors easier to study, scale, and use in power systems and magnets.
• The work was reported by University of Houston researchers including Ching-Wu Chu and Liangzi Deng.