HTS current leads: Performance overview in different operating modes

High Temperature Superconducting (HTS), current leads have become, in the last few years, a valid choice for the powering of superconducting magnet systems. After the construction and test of more than a thousand of HTS leads for the Large Hadron Collider, with a consequent improved confidence in the long-term and large scale operation of these devices, it is being envisaged to equip several other large superconducting magnet systems with this type of lead. The approach used in the optimization and design of such leads must take into account the requirements of the electrical and cryogenic systems as well as the local environment. The paper summarizes the results of the analysis made on HTS current leads, with special attention to the optimization process to be followed in different scenarios that include both DC and pulsed operation. Case studies are also presented and discussed. The calculation of the optimum performance in the various operating conditions was made assuming a lead design of the type used for LHC.