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WESTBOROUGH,
Mass., June 21 /PRNewswire/ -- American Superconductor
Corporation (NASDAQ:AMSC) , a leading electricity
solutions company, today announced that it has received
a contract from the Defense Advanced Research Projects
Agency (DARPA) to develop ultra-high performance second
generation (2G) high temperature superconductor (HTS)
wire for advanced military applications including
electronic warfare and electric weapons systems. The
ultra-high performance wire will be based on the application
of novel materials science technologies using AMSC
nanotechnology-enabled 2G HTS wire as a platform (see
http://www.amsuper.com/html/products/library/2g_white_paper_-_march_2004.pdf).
AMSC expects the contract will yield a total of $3.1
million of revenue over the next three years.
"AMSC(TM) has achieved
world-leading electrical performance in continuously
processed lengths of 2G HTS wire by high-volume, low-cost
manufacturing techniques," said Dr. Greg Yurek,
American Superconductor's chief executive officer.
"This new contract will be focused on utilizing
our 2G HTS wire platform to introduce additional low-cost
manufacturing methodologies that significantly boost
the electrical performance of the wire. While the
goal under this contract is to meet the needs for
special military applications, these improvements
will have a direct benefit on our commercial 2G HTS
wire."
AMSC is being funded as part of DARPA's Superconducting
Hybrid Power program, which aims to develop very efficient
cryogenic power systems that could offer up to an
order of magnitude lower volume and weight than conventional
ambient temperature power electronics, with better
efficiency.
"DARPA is very excited to begin this program,"
said Dr. Stuart Wolf, DARPA program manager. "Success
on this program will bring a direct and immediate
benefit to our initiatives to develop advanced electric
weapons platforms and systems."
Collaborating with AMSC on this program under separate
contracts are the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL),
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and Los Alamos
National Laboratory (LANL). Each of these laboratories
brings materials science expertise and specialized
characterization tools that will supplement the capabilities
at AMSC.
About American Superconductor
AMSC is a world-leading supplier of dynamic reactive
power grid stabilization products and the world's
principal vendor of high temperature superconductor
(HTS) wire and large rotating superconductor machinery.
AMSC's power electronic converters and HTS wire 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 www.amsuper.com.
About Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)
DARPA is the central research and development organization
for the Department of Defense (DoD). The Agency manages
and directs basic and applied research and development
projects for DoD, and pursues research and technology
where the risk and payoff are both very high and where
success may provide dramatic advances for traditional
military roles and missions. More information is available
at www.darpa.mil.
About U.S. Naval Research Laboratory
NRL is the corporate research laboratory for the Navy
and Marine Corps and conducts a broad program of scientific
research, technology and advanced development. NRL
has served the Navy and the nation for 80 years and
continues to meet the complex technological challenges
of today's world. More information is available at
www.nrl.navy.mil.
About Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Oak Ridge National Laboratory is a multiprogram science
and technology laboratory managed for the U.S. Department
of Energy by UT-Battelle, LLC. It supports the Department
of Energy's mission, including neutron sciences, high-
performance computing, complex biological systems,
electricity transmission and distribution, and materials
science. More information about ORNL may be found
at www.ornl.gov.
About Los Alamos National Laboratory
Los Alamos National Laboratory is operated by the
University of California for the National Nuclear
Security Administration of the U.S. Department of
Energy and works in partnership with NNSA's Sandia
and Lawrence Livermore national laboratories to support
NNSA in its mission. Los Alamos enhances global security
by ensuring the safety and reliability of the U.S.
nuclear weapons stockpile, developing technical solutions
to reduce the threat of weapons of mass destruction
and solving problems related to energy, environment,
infrastructure, health and national security concerns.
More information is available at www.lanl.gov.
American Superconductor and Revolutionizing the Way
the World Uses Electricity are trademarks and D-VAR
is a registered trademark of American Superconductor
Corporation. All other trademarks are the property
of their respective owners.
Source:
American Superconductor Corporation
CONTACT:
Media, Jack Jackson, On-Message Public Relations,
+1-781-444-
1020, jack@on-message.com; or Investors, Kevin Bisson,
American
Superconductor, +1-508-621-4220, investor@amsuper.com
Web site: http://www.amsuper.com/
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