Power grid demonstration project to showcase capability of HTS technology to
break electric grid bottlenecks
WESTBOROUGH, Mass., June 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- American
Superconductor Corporation (Nasdaq: AMSC), a leading electricity solutions
company, announced today that it has received an order for its first
generation (1G) high temperature superconductor (HTS) wire from Condumex, the
largest wire and cable manufacturer in Mexico. The HTS wire will be utilized
by Condumex to manufacture and install an HTS power cable system in a Mexico
City, Mexico electrical substation. The project will demonstrate the ability
of HTS cable to move increased amounts of power under the streets of Mexico
City, helping to break grid bottlenecks and provide customers with more
reliable and secure electric power. One-third of the project is to be funded
by the government of Mexico.
The alternating current (AC) power distribution cable system will be able
to transmit 47-megawatts (MW) of power. HTS cables are able to conduct much
greater amounts of power because the HTS wires supplied by AMSC are able to
carry more than 140 times the electrical current of copper wires of the same
dimensions. Because of this substantial increase in current carrying capacity
of the wires, HTS cables utilize far fewer strands of wire than cables made
with copper.
"Condumex believes that HTS wire will revolutionize the energy cable
business the same way optical fiber has revolutionized the telecommunication
cable business," said a Condumex spokesperson. "Our company also believes that
high capacity HTS cables will provide Condumex's customers with a significant
new way to break power grid bottlenecks by permitting substantial increases in
power flow through existing rights of way in congested urban areas."
The Condumex HTS cable system will comprise three 33-meter (109 feet)
long, warm dielectric cables and will utilize about 10 kilometers (about 6
miles) of HTS wire. The cable system will operate at 15 kilovolts and will
carry 1,800 Amperes of electrical current in each of the three cables in the
system. The three cables will handle the power flow of nine similar-sized
copper cables -- providing a very effective and economical means to eliminate
power bottlenecks. Condumex expects the cable system to be installed and
operating in a Mexico City substation next year.
"Condumex is the market leader in Mexico for power distribution cables and
we are honored they selected AMSC's wire for this important project," said
Angelo Santamaria, vice president and general manager of AMSC's wire business.
"With this project, Condumex joins a growing number of leading cable companies
worldwide who are building and demonstrating HTS power cables today to ensure
their participation in what is expected to be a substantial and fast growing
market for HTS power cables by the end of this decade."
On track for commercial introduction in the next few years, HTS cables
will offer several advantages, including very high power capacity and a very
small footprint, making them much easier to site even in dense, older urban
areas; and controllability, allowing larger amounts of power to be pumped
economically and reliably into congested areas and transferred precisely where
it is needed to relieve congestion. For more information on HTS cables, see
http://www.amsuper.com/products/htsWire/HTSCables.cfm.
About Condumex
Condumex is part of Grupo Carso, a multi-billion dollar conglomerate.
Condumex is the largest wire and cable manufacturer in Mexico, with some $1.5
billion in annual sales and a workforce of 14,000 worldwide. Condumex is
involved in energy, automotive, and telecom businesses, with energy cables
representing about 32% of their annual sales. More information is available
at http://www.condumex.com.
About American Superconductor
AMSC is the world's principal vendor of high temperature superconductor
(HTS) wire and large rotating superconductor machinery, and it is a world-
leading supplier of dynamic reactive power grid stabilization products. AMSC's
HTS wire and power electronic converters are at the core of a broad range of
new electricity transmission and distribution, transportation, medical and
industrial processing applications, including dynamic reactive power grid
stabilization solutions, large ship propulsion motors and generators, smart,
controllable, superconductor power cables and advanced defense systems. The
Company's products are supported by hundreds of patents and licenses covering
technologies fundamental to Revolutionizing the Way the World Uses
Electricity(TM). More information is available at http://www.amsuper.com.
American Superconductor and design, AMSC, POWERED BY AMSC, and
Revolutionizing the Way the World Uses Electricity, are trademarks of American
Superconductor Corporation. All other trademarks are the property of their
respective owners.
Any statements in this release about future expectations, plans and
prospects for the Company, including statements containing the words
"believes," "anticipates," "plans," "expects," "will" and similar expressions,
constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. There are a number of important
factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those
indicated by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include:
uncertainties regarding the Company's ability to obtain anticipated funding
from corporate and government contracts, to successfully develop, manufacture
and market commercial products, and to secure anticipated orders; the risk
that a robust market may not develop for the Company's products; the risk that
strategic alliances and other contracts may be terminated; the risk that
certain technologies utilized by the Company will infringe intellectual
property rights of others; and the competition encountered by the Company,
including several large Japanese companies. Reference is made to these and
other factors discussed in the "Management's Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operation" section of the Company's most
recent quarterly or annual report filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission. In addition, the forward-looking statements included in this press
release represent the Company's views as of the date of this release. While
the Company anticipates that subsequent events and developments may cause the
Company's views to change, the Company specifically disclaims any obligation
to update these forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements
should not be relied upon as representing the Company's views as of any date
subsequent to the date this press release is issued.
SOURCE American Superconductor Corporation
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Related links:
http://www.amsuper.com
http://www.amsuper.com/products/htsWire/HTSCables.cfm
http://www.condumex.com
CONTACT:
Wanda Whitson, Media, +1-508-621-4454,
news@amsuper.com, or Kevin Bisson, Investors, +1-508-621-4220,
investor@amsuper.com, both of American Superconductor
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