AMSC (Nasdaq:AMSC), a global energy solutions provider serving wind
and power grid industry leaders, today announced that the Nexans’
medium voltage sFCL units installed into the power grid in
Birmingham, UK use AMSC’s Amperium® wire in the superconducting
components of the devices.
The Birmingham project is Nexans’ third UK order for
superconducting fault current limiters and the largest to date. The
contract includes design, fabrication, and permanent installation
of the innovative devices, including associated switchgear in the
distribution grid operated by Western Power Distribution.
AMSC and Nexans have collaborated to offer the sFCL system to
the North American market and continue to work closely on the sFCL
product, and on other superconductor product applications, such as
AMSC’s Resilient Electric Grid (REG) solutions.
Nexans delivered the first sFCL from this order to the Chester
Street substation in late 2015, and the second to Bournville
substation. Both sFCLs use AMSC’s Amperium® wire and are now
permanently integrated into the grid. The technology opens up new
ways of designing distribution grids, such as with coupling busbars
to maintain a reliable power supply during maintenance.
Installation of the pioneering technology in Birmingham’s
network is part of the FlexDGrid project, which aims to future
proof existing networks to accept more electricity generated from
sustainable resources. The new equipment helps achieve this
objective by enabling higher power feed-in from
distributed or renewable electricity sources. In many places this
is expected to remove the need for network expansion with new
substations. The FlexDGrid project is financed by GBP 17 million
from the Low Carbon Networks Fund, a national initiative for
reducing carbon dioxide emissions.
The superconducting fault current limiters, which have
already proved their reliability in several distribution networks
and power station auxiliary supply systems, provide particularly
effective protection against fault currents for downstream
components in the network. They are inherently safe and highly
effective, and their operating costs are low.
Fault currents, which are caused by short circuits in the grid,
are a growing challenge for power grid operators worldwide. These
destructive currents can be caused by a variety of factors,
including lightning or downed power lines. As electricity demand
and generation has grown and power grids have become more
interconnected, the magnitude of these fault currents has increased
significantly. To counter this, utilities have installed
unnecessarily large equipment and a variety of fault current
mitigation systems such as fault current limiting reactors.
However, each of these approaches has distinct drawbacks, most
notably in terms of cost.
About AMSC (Nasdaq:AMSC)
AMSC generates the ideas, technologies and solutions that meet
the world’s demand for smarter, cleaner … better energy™. Through
its Windtec™ Solutions, AMSC provides wind turbine electronic
controls and systems, designs and engineering services that reduce
the cost of wind energy. Through its Gridtec™ Solutions, AMSC
provides the engineering planning services and advanced grid
systems that optimize network reliability, efficiency and
performance. The Company’s solutions are now powering gigawatts of
renewable energy globally and are enhancing the performance and
reliability of power networks in more than a dozen countries.
Founded in 1987, AMSC is headquartered near Boston, Massachusetts
with operations in Asia, Australia, Europe and North America. For
more information, please visit www.amsc.com.
About Nexans
Nexans brings energy to life through an extensive range of
cables and cabling solutions that deliver increased performance for
our customers worldwide. Nexans’ teams are committed to a
partnership approach that supports customers in four main business
areas: Power transmission and distribution (submarine and land),
Energy resources (Oil & Gas, Mining and Renewables),
Transportation (Road, Rail, Air, Sea) and Building (Commercial,
Residential and Data Centers). Nexans’ strategy is founded on
continuous innovation in products, solutions and services, employee
development, customer training and the introduction of safe,
low-environmental-impact industrial processes.
In 2013, Nexans became the first cable player to create a
Foundation to introduce sustained initiatives for access to energy
for disadvantaged communities worldwide.
Nexans is an active member of Europacable, the European
Association of Wire & Cable Manufacturers, and a signatory of
the Europacable Industry Charter. The Charter expresses its
members' commitment to the principles and objectives of developing
ethical, sustainable and high-quality cables.
Nexans has an industrial presence in 40 countries and commercial
activities worldwide, employing close to 26,000 people and
generating sales in 2015 of 6.2 billion euros. Nexans is listed on
NYSE Euronext Paris, compartment A.
For more information, please consult: www.nexans.com
AMSC, Windtec, Gridtec, and Smarter, Cleaner … Better Energy are
trademarks or registered trademarks of American Superconductor
Corporation. All other brand names, product names, trademarks, or
service marks belong to their respective holders.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within
the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934,
as amended (the "Exchange Act"). Any statements in this release
regarding sFCLs meeting the growing energy needs in Birmingham; the
potential of sFCLs and the FlexDGrid project; and other 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. Such forward-looking statements represent
management's current expectations and are inherently uncertain.
There are a number of important factors that could materially
impact the value of our common stock or cause actual results to
differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking
statements. Such factors include: We have a history of operating
losses, which may continue in the future. Our operating results may
fluctuate significantly from quarter to quarter and may fall below
expectations in any particular fiscal quarter; we have a history of
negative operating cash flows, and we may require additional
financing in the future, which may not be available to us; Our Term
Loans include certain covenants and other events of default. Should
we not comply with these covenants or incur an event of default, we
may be required to repay our obligation in cash, which could have
an adverse effect on our liquidity; We may be required to issue
performance bonds or provide letters of credit, which restricts our
ability to access any cash used as collateral for the bonds or
letters of credit; Changes in exchange rates could adversely affect
our results from operations; If we fail to maintain proper and
effective internal controls over financial reporting, our ability
to produce accurate and timely financial statements could be
impaired and may lead investors and other users to lose confidence
in our financial data; Our financial condition may have an adverse
effect on our customer and supplier relationships; Our success in
addressing the wind energy market is dependent on the manufacturers
that license our designs; A significant portion of our revenues are
derived from a single customer, Our success is dependent upon
attracting and retaining qualified personnel and our inability to
do so could significantly damage our business and prospects; We may
not realize all of the sales expected from our backlog of orders
and contracts; Our business and operations would be adversely
impacted in the event of a failure or security breach of our
information technology infrastructure; We may not be able to ramp
up production at our newly leased manufacturing facility in
Romania, and, if we are able to do so, we may have manufacturing
quality issues, which would negatively affect our revenues and
financial position; We rely upon third-party suppliers for the
components and subassemblies of many of our Wind and Grid products,
making us vulnerable to supply shortages and price fluctuations,
which could harm our business; Many of our revenue opportunities
are dependent upon subcontractors and other business collaborators;
If we fail to implement our business strategy successfully, our
financial performance could be harmed; Problems with product
quality or product performance may cause us to incur warranty
expenses and may damage our market reputation and prevent us from
achieving increased sales and market share; New regulations related
to conflict-free minerals may force us to incur significant
additional expenses; Our contracts with the U.S. government are
subject to audit, modification or termination by the U.S.
government and include certain other provisions in favor of the
government. The continued funding of such contracts remains subject
to annual congressional appropriation which, if not approved, could
reduce our revenue and lower or eliminate our profit; Many of our
customers outside of the United States, particularly in China, are,
either directly or indirectly, related to governmental entities,
and we could be adversely affected by violations of the United
States Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and similar worldwide
anti-bribery laws outside the United States; We have limited
experience in marketing and selling our superconductor products and
system-level solutions, and our failure to effectively market and
sell our products and solutions could lower our revenue and cash
flow; We may acquire additional complementary businesses or
technologies, which may require us to incur substantial costs for
which we may never realize the anticipated benefits; Our success
depends upon the commercial use of high temperature superconductor
(HTS) products, which is currently limited, and a widespread
commercial market for our products may not develop; Growth of the
wind energy market depends largely on the availability and size of
government subsidies and economic incentives; We have operations in
and depend on sales in emerging markets, including India and China,
and global conditions could negatively affect our operating results
or limit our ability to expand our operations outside of these
countries. Changes in India's or China's political, social,
regulatory and economic environment may affect our financial
performance; Our products face intense competition, which could
limit our ability to acquire or retain customers; Our international
operations are subject to risks that we do not face in the United
States, which could have an adverse effect on our operating
results; Adverse changes in domestic and global economic conditions
could adversely affect our operating results; We may be unable to
adequately prevent disclosure of trade secrets and other
proprietary information; Our patents may not provide meaningful
protection for our technology, which could result in us losing some
or all of our market position; There are a number of technological
challenges that must be successfully addressed before our
superconductor products can gain widespread commercial acceptance,
and our inability to address such technological challenges could
adversely affect our ability to acquire customers for our products;
Third parties have or may acquire patents that cover the materials,
processes and technologies we use or may use in the future to
manufacture our Amperium products, and our success depends on our
ability to license such patents or other proprietary rights; Our
technology and products could infringe intellectual property rights
of others, which may require costly litigation and, if we are not
successful, could cause us to pay substantial damages and disrupt
our business; We have filed a demand for arbitration and other
lawsuits against our former largest customer, Sinovel, regarding
amounts we contend are overdue. We cannot be certain as to the
outcome of these proceedings; We have been named as a party in
various legal proceedings, and we may be named in additional
litigation, all of which will require significant management time
and attention, result in significant legal expenses and may result
in an unfavorable outcome, which could have a material adverse
effect on our business, operating results and financial condition;
and Our common stock has experienced, and may continue to
experience, significant market price and volume fluctuations, which
may prevent our stockholders from selling our common stock at a
profit and could lead to costly litigation against us that could
divert our management's attention.
These and the important factors discussed under the caption
"Risk Factors" in Part 1. Item 1A of our Form 10-K for the fiscal
year ended March 31, 2015, and our other reports filed with the
SEC, among others, could cause actual results to differ materially
from those indicated by forward-looking statements made herein and
presented elsewhere by management from time to time. Any such
forward-looking statements represent management's estimates as of
the date of this press release. While we may elect to update such
forward-looking statements at some point in the future, we disclaim
any obligation to do so, even if subsequent events cause our views
to change. These forward-looking statements should not be relied
upon as representing our views as of any date subsequent to the
date of this press release.
AMSC Contact:
Brion D. Tanous
CleanTech IR, Inc.
Phone: 978-842-3247
Email: Brion.Tanous@amsc.com
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