Extra November, 2005

Date of Issue: November 1, 2005

Superconductivity Web21
Superconductivity

Published by International Superconductivity Technology Center
5-34-3, Shimbashi, Minato-ku, Tokyo 105-0004, Japan Tel:+81-3-3431-4002, Fax:+81-3-3431-4044

What’s New in the World of Superconductivity (September)
Power
American Superconductor Corporation and the Tennessee Valley Authority (September13, 2005)
American Superconductor Corporation and the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) haveannounced that R&D Magazine has selected the SuperVAR® dynamic synchronous condenser
as one of the past year’s most technologically significant products, receiving the magazine’s
prestigious R&D 100 Award. The SuperVAR dynamic synchronous condenser uses
superconductor technology to stabilize grid voltages, increase service reliability, and to help
maximize transmission capacity. TVA installed an advanced prototype of American
Superconductor’s SuperVAR condenser at an electrical substation serving a steel mill in August
2004. Since then, the SuperVAR machine has been helping to stabilize the grid’s voltage by
injecting or absorbing reactive power, as needed. Greg Yurek, president and CEO of American
Superconductor, commented, "This is particularly timely since the Energy Policy Act of 2005,
recently signed by President Bush, highlights the need for increased investment in the reliability
and modernization of the nation's transmission grid, including mandatory reliability standards.
We expect SuperVAR machines to play a substantial role in meeting the new and enforceable
reliability standards."
Source:“High Temperature Superconductor Power Grid Stabilization Product Recognized for TechnicalExcellence -- Selected for R&D 100 Award”
American Superconductor Corporation press release (September 13, 2005)
http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=86422&p=irol-newsArticle_Print&ID=755624&highlight
Brookhaven National Laboratory (September 14, 2005)
Researchers at the Brookhaven National Laboratory have discovered a way tosignificantly increase the amount of electric current carried by YBCO superconductors. The
scientists examined several factors that tend to limit current in actual devices and found that
surface roughness can actually significantly increase the current-carrying capacity. By
depositing YBCO onto a substrate prepared with two distinct areas, a rough region and asmooth region, they were able to directly compare the behavior of the YBCO film on both
surface types using electrical-transport measurement techniques and magneto-optical imaging.
Surprisingly, the current in the YBCO film deposited on the rough substrate was 30% higher
than that deposited on the smooth substrate. Thus, metal substrates with some degree ofroughness may actually improve the performance of high-temperature superconductors. The
results are further explained in the September 12th online edition of Applied Physics Letters.
Source:“Helping out a high-temperature superconductor”
Brookhaven National Laboratory press release (September 14, 2005)
http://www.bnl.gov/bnlweb/pubaf/pr/PR_display.asp?prID=05-88

Extra November, 2005

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Date of Issue: November 1, 2005

Superconductivity Web21
Superconductivity

Published by International Superconductivity Technology Center
5-34-3, Shimbashi, Minato-ku, Tokyo 105-0004, Japan Tel:+81-3-3431-4002, Fax:+81-3-3431-4044

American Superconductor Corporation (September 20, 2005)
American Superconductor Corporation (AMSC) has received a new order for three
D-VAR® systems (Dynamic VAR) to be installed in a Canadian mining facility. The 12-MVAR
systems will be used to manage voltage conditions, improving the reliability and quality of theelectrical power needed to increase industrial productivity and prevent plant shut downs caused
by voltage sags. Chuck Stankiewicz, vice president and general manager of AMSC's PowerElectronic Systems business unit, commented, "A momentary drop or sag in voltage can bevery costly since it can halt the manufacturing process. Remote mining operations aresusceptible to low voltage problems, which cause equipment outages, because they are often
located at the end of long radial transmission lines." The D-VAR systems are scheduled forshipping in the company’s third and fourth quarters of fiscal year 2006. The order represents theeighth D-VAR sale in Canada and the 40th worldwide
Source:“Canadian Mining Facility Orders Three D-VAR(R) Systems from American Superconductor”
American Superconductor Corporation press release (September 20, 2005)
http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=86422&p=irol-newsArticle_Print&ID=758520&highlight
Nexans SuperConductors GmbH (September 21, 2005)
Nexans SuperConductors GmbH has supplied Siemens AG’s Corporate Technology
division with a contactless HTS bearing for industrial applications. Siemens recently startedoperating a 4 MVA generator (containing a rotor with an HTS magnet) designed for ship
propulsion. The HTS bearing will hold the rotor equipped with permanent magnets incontactless suspension, enabling a nominal load of 500 kg. The HTS magnet maintains theshaft in a stable position through levitation and counterbalances radial and lateral forces. TheHTS bearing is currently undergoing tests at Siemens; it has been cooled to -245℃, supporteda load of up to 690 kg, and can withstand engine speeds of up to 3,600 revolutions/min. The
rotor operates in a “warm bore” with a bearing gap of just 1 mm in width.
Source:“Nexans supplies the world's first high temperature superconductor contactless bearing to go
on test for an industrial application”
Nexans press release (September 21, 2005)
http://www.nexans.fr/internet/Content.nx?f=h&contentId=6464
American Superconductor Corporation (September 28, 2005)
American Superconductor Corporation (AMSC) has received an order for three
PowerModule™ PM1000 power electronic converters from Hydrogenics Corporation, a fuel cell
developer and manufacturer. The power electronic converters will be used in the propulsion
system of a full-size, forty-foot (approximately 12-meter) transit bus that will be initiallydemonstrated in Winnipeg, Manitoba (Canada). The bus will be the first in Canada to be
powered by a hybrid configuration of fuel cells and ultra capacitors. Each of the power
converters will manage and regulate the electricity produced by the three fuel cells and will
regulate power for the bus’s electric drive system. The project, which is being funded by theCanadian government’s Department of Natural Resources, will be completed by spring 2006.
AMSC’s PM1000 power electronic converters have been used in a range of applications from
Extra November, 2005

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Date of Issue: November 1, 2005

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Published by International Superconductivity Technology Center
5-34-3, Shimbashi, Minato-ku, Tokyo 105-0004, Japan Tel:+81-3-3431-4002, Fax:+81-3-3431-4044

renewable energy to military applications. Nearly 1000 converters have been used successfullyon the power grid and at industrial sites in North America and Europe over the last five years.
Source:“American Superconductor Receives Order for PowerModule™ Electronic Converters to Be
Utilized in Fuel Cell System for Hybrid Electric Bus”
American Superconductor Corporation press release (September 28, 2005)
http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=86422&p=irol-newsArticle_Print&ID=761853&highlight

NMR
Oxford Instruments Superconductivity (September 9, 2005)
Oxford Instruments Superconductivity has announced that the world’s first commercial
950 MHz magnet is now being prepared for delivery to Oxford University in September 2005.
The system will be used by the university’s NMR Protein Structure Group to collect and analyze
data on biomolecules over 100 kDa in size. In tests conducted so far, the system is performing
excellently, with a base drift rate of less that 5 Hz per hour (this is a fundamental parameter for
long-term biomolecular NMR experiments and crucial to obtaining high-quality data). The
magnet also validates Oxford Instruments’ new, proprietary niobium-based superconductor,
which was developed to enhance the critical current density capacity (Jc). This additional Jc iscrucial, as it enables the development of compact Ultra High Field NMR magnet systems.
Source:“Oxford Instruments announces the world’s first 950MHz magnet for Nuclear Magnetic
Resonance is at field”
Oxford Instruments Superconductivity press release (September 9, 2005)
http://www.nmrmagnetsdirect.com/pr3.htm

Communication
Superconductor Technologies Inc. (September 7, 2005)
Superconductor Technologies Inc. (STI) has extended an existing general purchaseagreement with a major wireless carrier in the United States. The agreement was extended foralmost three years, modifying the term to last through till early 2008, and will now include STI’sSuperLink™ product and all of STI’s new products, including AmpLink™ and SuperPlex ™. Allof STI’s products are compatible with existing and currently planned future wireless network
technologies. Jeff Quiram, STI president and chief executive officer, commented, “STI
anticipated the demand for improved performance by wireless networks as operators roll out
EV-DO and other data architectures. We introduced the AmpLink, SuperPlex and enhanced
duplexer lines in 2004, and these products are beginning to show traction with our customers.
We have further provided customization of these products to meet our customers' unique needsand applications. We look forward to continued success with this major CDMA wireless carrier
through the remainder of 2005 and beyond as it expands its high quality wireless network."
Source:Extra November, 2005

© ISTEC 2005 All rights reserved.

-3-Extra November, 2005

Date of Issue: November 1, 2005

Superconductivity Web21
Superconductivity

Published by International Superconductivity Technology Center
5-34-3, Shimbashi, Minato-ku, Tokyo 105-0004, Japan Tel:+81-3-3431-4002, Fax:+81-3-3431-4044“Superconductor Technologies Inc. Extends Agreement With Major CDMA Wireless Carrier”
Superconductor Technologies Inc. press release (September 7, 2005)
http://phx.corporate-ir.net/staging/phoenix.zhtml?c=70847&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=753372&highlight(Akihiko Tsutai, Director, International Affairs Department, ISTEC)

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