AMSC, a global energy solutions provider serving wind and power
grid industry leaders, today announced it has been selected for an
award of $4.5 million for applied research and development of
superconductor wire by The Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of
Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) as part of the
agency’s Next Generation Electric Machines program. The award
is subject to completion of a contract which is expected to be
entered into in the coming weeks.
“We are focused on delivering system level value
to enable a more resilient electric grid and a resilient fleet.
We expect that this funding will enable us to continue
advancing wire technology specifically for rotating machines for
the fleet,” said Daniel P. McGahn, President and Chief Executive
Officer of AMSC. “This work with the DOE is complementary to our
efforts to enable the U.S. Navy’s ‘Electric Ship‘ objective and
will allow our team to continue to develop wire technology focusing
on specific system level applications like motors and generators
for naval ships.”
In 2009, AMSC and Northrop Grumman Corporation
announced the successful completion of full-power testing of the
world’s first 36.5 megawatt (MW) high temperature superconductor
(HTS) ship propulsion motor at the U.S. Navy’s Integrated Power
System Land–Based Test Site in Philadelphia. This accomplishment
was the first successful full-power test of an electric propulsion
motor sized for a large Navy combatant and, at 36.5 MWs, doubled
the Navy’s power rating test record. This system was designed and
built under a contract from the Office of Naval Research (ONR) to
demonstrate the efficacy of HTS motors as the primary propulsion
technology for future Navy all-electric ships and submarines. Naval
Sea Systems Command funded and led the successful testing of the
motor. This new DOE program is expected to help further the advance
of wire technology in preparation for what could be next with the
U.S. Navy.
The projects selected by EERE will address the
limitations of traditional materials and designs used in electric
motor components by cost-effectively enhancing their efficiency,
improving their performance, and reducing weight. The effort will
support innovative approaches that are expected to significantly
improve the technology in industrial electric motors, which use
approximately 70 percent of the electricity consumed by U.S.
manufacturers and nearly a quarter of all electricity consumed
nationally, according to EERE.
“AMSC has worked with the U.S. Department of
Energy, and other U.S. government agencies for many years to extend
and enhance the application of HTS,” said McGahn. “This recent
award is an opportunity to continue to demonstrate our leadership
in developing high performance HTS systems for the evolving
electric grid and motors of the future.”
In 2006, AMSC partnered with American Electric
Power (AEP) of Columbus, Ohio and DOE to demonstrate a HTS cable
system to efficiently deliver electric power to approximately 8,600
homes and businesses in suburban Columbus. The HTS power cable
installed in AEP’s distribution grid connecting its Bixby
substation in Groveport, Ohio to commercial and industrial
customers was developed, installed and energized on time and on
budget.
In 2008, AMSC, Long Island Power Authority
(LIPA) and DOE celebrated the commissioning of the world’s first
HTS power transmission cable system in a commercial power grid
capable of delivering 500 MWs, or one half gigawatt of power. The
138kV system (operated at 115kV), which consisted of three
individual HTS power cable phases running in parallel, was
successfully energized and operated to demonstrate the power
density advantage of transmission-voltage HTS cables utilizing far
less wire, but conducting up to five times more power, in a smaller
right of way than traditional copper based cables. HTS cables can
deliver transmission level power at distribution level voltages
enabling the deployment of transmission assets on the grid in an
environmentally appropriate format.
Also in 2008, AMSC supplied critical components
to the ONR and the Naval Surface Warfare Center Carderock Division
(NSWCCD) Ship Engineering Station Philadelphia for a HTS degaussing
coil system for initial electrical testing onboard the USS Higgins
(DDG 76), an 8,000 ton Arleigh Burke-class destroyer. Powered by
AMSC’s HTS wire and magnet cable technology, the coil system
successfully completed a multi-year U.S. Navy sea trial, and is the
program that enabled the creation of AMSC’s ship protection system
solutions for the U.S. Navy, which is expected by the company to be
an annual market opportunity of between $70 million and $120
million by 2020.
In 2011, AMSC and LS Cable deployed a HTS power
cable utilizing AMSC’s proprietary 2G HTS wire, to energize a 22.9
kV cable system that was installed in Korea Electric Power
Corporation’s (KEPCO) commercial power delivery network at the
I’cheon substation located near the city of Seoul. At nearly
one-half mile in length, the HTS power cable was successfully
energized and tested at delivering up to 50 MWs of power, making it
the world’s longest distribution-voltage HTS cable system.
In 2011, AMSC, Nexans, and Siemens, along with
DOE, successfully qualified a transmission voltage resistive fault
current limiter (FCL) that utilizes AMSC’s 2G HTS wire for power
levels suitable for application in the transmission grid (138kV
insulation class and nominal current of 900 A). This smart grid
system demonstrated its ability to strengthen the grid by reducing
the destructive nature of faults, extending the life of existing
substation equipment and allowing utilities to defer or eliminate
equipment replacements or upgrades. The resistive nature of the
HTS-based FCL improves the ability of the high voltage transmission
power grid to remain stable, reducing the likelihood of more
widespread system collapse. The Company, in conjunction with
Nexans, is now offering stand-alone FCL’s for the North American
market.
In 2013, AMSC was selected by Nexans, for HTS
wire to be used in a superconductor FCL (SFCL) to be integrated
into the electric grid in Essen, Germany, as part of the “AmpaCity”
project being undertaken by Nexans, RWE Group, and the German
research institute KIT. The AMSC/Nexan SFCL provides overload
protection to the HTS cable, lowering the fault current levels, and
allowing for a safe and reliable interconnection to the grid.
Nexans and AMSC agreed in 2016 to jointly develop and deliver
projects using both companies’ capabilities.
In 2014, AMSC and Commonwealth Edison (ComEd), a
unit of Chicago-based Exelon Corporation, initiated the development
of a deployment plan for AMSC’s HTS technology to build a HTS cable
system designed to strengthen Chicago’s electric grid.
The Resilient Electric Grid (REG) effort is part
of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and
Technology Directorate’s work to secure the nation’s electric power
grids and improve resiliency against extreme weather, acts of
terrorism, or other catastrophic events. The company
estimates that the U.S. market opportunity for its REG system is
between $5 billion and $6 billion annually.
In 2016, AMSC and BASF Corporation agreed to
jointly develop an advanced low cost manufacturing process for
second-generation high temperature superconductor wire. In the
joint development, AMSC’s manufacturing know-how for its Amperium®
superconductor wire and BASF’s chemical solution deposition
production technology are being combined. As part of the
agreements, AMSC and BASF also entered into a royalty-bearing,
non-exclusive license under which AMSC is providing BASF a
specified portion of AMSC’s second-generation (2G) HTS wire
manufacturing technology. We are working with BASF to possibly
refine and advance wire process technology.
The parties expect these agreements to result in
the development of a potentially low cost manufacturing process at
BASF and to enable AMSC to focus resources on driving down the
total system cost. If the development is complete and successful,
AMSC may utilize wire produced by this advanced manufacturing
process for its systems business. AMSC’s strategy is to continually
research, develop, and deliver its HTS technology for integration
into system level solutions for its customers with the help of its
public and private funding partners.
“We are focused on growth while we expand our
product portfolio, diversify our revenues and enhance our
technology, continued McGahn. “We now have two programs advancing
wire technology that are collaborations with and funded by other
parties, our manufacturing cooperation with BASF as well as this
new advanced wire program with the DOE. These programs are
expected to enable us to continue advancing one of our key
technologies, HTS wire, so that we may deliver added value to our
customers in the future, or what we call ‘Value Beyond the Wire’,
because people don’t buy technology, they buy what it does.”
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.
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
Statements in this press release that are not
strictly historical in nature constitute “forward-looking
statements” within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Such statements include, but are
not limited to, statements regarding our expectations regarding the
entry by AMSC and DOE into a contract for AMSC to provide applied
research and development of superconductor wire to DOE, that this
funding will enable us to continue advancing wire technology
specifically for rotating machines for the fleet, that this new DOE
program will help further the advance of wire technology in
preparation for what could be next with the U.S. Navy, and that
AMSC’s ship protection system solutions for the U.S. Navy are
expected to be an annual market opportunity of between $70 million
and $120 million by 2020; AMSC’s market opportunity for its REG
system in the U.S. is expected to be between $5 billion and $6
billion annually; AMSC’s and BASF’s expectation that the agreements
will result in the development of a potentially low cost
manufacturing process at BASF and enable AMSC to focus on driving
down the total system costs; our expectation that our programs with
BASF and the DOE will enable us to continue advancing one of our
key technologies, HTS wire, so that we may deliver added value to
our customers in the future; and the performance of HTS cables.
Such forward-looking statements represent our current expectations
and are inherently uncertain. Actual results may differ materially
from what we expect because of various risks and uncertainties,
including the risks that AMSC and DOE may not enter into a contract
for AMSC to provide applied research and development of
superconductor wire to DOE; that this funding may not enable us to
continue advancing wire technology specifically for rotating
machines for the fleet; that this new DOE program may not help
further the advance of wire technology in preparation for what
could be next with the U.S. Navy; AMSC’s ship protection system
solutions for the U.S. Navy may not provide an annual market
opportunity of between $70 million and $120 million by 2020;
that AMSC’s REG system may not provide an annual market
opportunity in the U.S. of $5 billion to $6 billion annually; that
the agreements between AMSC and BASF may not result in the
development of a potentially low cost manufacturing process at BASF
and may not enable AMSC to focus on driving down the total system
costs; that our programs with BASF and the DOE may not enable
us to continue advancing one of our key technologies, HTS wire; and
that HTS cables may not perform as expected. 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, 2016, 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
AMSC Investor Relations
Phone: 424-634-8592
Email: Brion.Tanous@amsc.com
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