Extra March, 2004

Date of Issue: March 1, 2004

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 (January)

Power
American Superconductor Corporation (January 5, 2004)
American Superconductor Corporation (AMSC) announced that its HTS ship propulsion
motors have been selected by the editors of IEEE Spectrum, a prestigious and influential
technology publication, as one of the six products or projects worldwide with the potential to“transform major industries”. AMSC’s HTS ship propulsion motors were chosen as the winner inthe transportation category, one of six industries considered by the magazine’s editors. Themagazine reported that HTS motors are “returning ship propulsion to the absolute forefront ofadvanced technology."
Source:“IEEE Spectrum Selects American Superconductor’s Ship Propulsion Motors As A Winning
Product for 2004”
American Superconductor Corporation press release (January 5, 2004)
http://www.amsuper.com/html/newsEvents/news/10335061601741.html
American Superconductor Corporation (January 8, 2004)
American Superconductor Corporation and General Electric announced that AmericanTransmission Company (ATC) has purchased six D-SMES systems that are presently being
used for voltage stabilization in the Rhinelander Loop transmission grid, previously owned by
Wisconsin Public Service (a subsidiary of WPS Resources Corporation). Wisconsin PublicService had transferred the transmission grid ownership and operations to ATC in 2001 but hadretained certain assets, including the six D-SMES units that have now been acquired by ATC.
As a result of this transaction, American Superconductor recognized an additional US $3.2
million in revenue for the quarter ending December 31, 2003. During the 3 1/2-year history of
their operation, the six D-SMES systems have protected the Rhinelander loop from more than2000 distribution or transmission voltage sags, including several acute electrical faults.
Source:“American Transmission Company Purchases From American Superconductor Six D-SMES
Transmission Grid Reliability Systems Previously Owned By Wisconsin Public Service”
American Superconductor Corporation press release (January 8, 2004)
http://www.amsuper.com/html/newsEvents/news/10335061601742.html
American Superconductor Corporation (January 14, 2004)
American Superconductor Corporation will provide a D-VAR ® reactive powercompensation system to Canada’s largest wind farm developer, Vision Quest Windelectric (adivision of TransAlta Corporation). The D-VAR system will provide reactive power support andvoltage regulation at the Summerview wind farm, located south of Calgary, Alberta. The D-VAR
system will enable the wind farm to meet the voltage control standards required for its
interconnection with the regional power grid. Once completed, the Summerview project will
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Date of Issue: March 1, 2004

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cover approximately 7,000 acres and generate about 130 MW of electric power.
Source:“American Superconductor’s D-VAR® System To Ensure Transmission Interconnection For
Canadian Wind Farm”
American Superconductor Corporation press release (January 14, 2004)
http://www.amsuper.com/html/newsEvents/news/10335061601743.html
American Superconductor Corporation (January 26, 2004)
American Superconductor Corporation (AMSC) has filed a patent application for ananotechnology-based manufacturing technique that will deliver an immediate 30% increase in
the electric current-carrying capability of the company’s second-generation (2G) HTS wire. The
new nanotechnology process involves the production of disperse “nanodots” throughout thesuperconductor coating of the 2G HTS wire. Based on laboratory-scale work performed byresearch colleagues at the Air Force Research Laboratory and the Los Alamos NationalLaboratory, optimizing the size, dispersion, and composition of the nanodots should enable theelectrical current flow in 2G wire to be at least doubled at the operating temperatures andmagnetic fields associated with commercial superconductor applications. The nanodots will beincorporated in 10-m lengths of 2G HTS wire that are presently being sold to customers aroundthe world, and nanotechnology capabilities will be included in the 2G pilot manufacturing plantthat AMSC plans to begin building at the end of this year. AMSC’s 2G HTS wire is being
designed as a form-fit-function replacement for the company’s existing first-generation wire, butwill have a manufacturing cost that is 2 – 5 times lower than the first-generation wire. This
reduction in cost is expected to expand the market for HTS applications.
Source:“American Superconductor’s Nanotechnology Breakthrough Significantly Increases
Performance of Superconductor Wire”
American Superconductor Corporation press release (January 26, 2004)
http://www.amsuper.com/html/newsEvents/news/10335061601745.html
Intermagnetics General Corporation (January 28, 2004)
Intermagnetics General Corporation has announced the forecasted performances of its
traditional core businesses and the projected contribution of its recent acquisition of Invivo
Corporation (effective as of January 27) for fiscal 2005, ending in May 2005.Overall, revenue is
expected to increase by more than 50% to approximately US $250 million in fiscal 2005.
Regarding the acquisition of Invivo Corporation, Glenn H. Epstien, chairman and CEO ofIntermagnetics, commented “This is a highly attractive strategic acquisition with significant
benefits for Intermagnetics. For what historically has been the core business of Intermagnetics,
it means access to new markets and customers as well as the services of a highly skilled andrespected global sales team.” The company’s MRI sector is expected to show attractive growthin the last three quarters of the year, partly in response to the planned introduction of newproducts. The instrumentation sector may experience a moderate slowdown in the third quarter,
compared with previous record performances, but strong order trends suggest that growth will
be resumed in the fourth quarter. Regarding the company’s energy technology sector,
SuperPower is expected to achieve a steep increase in revenue, mainly from theExtra March, 2004

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Date of Issue: March 1, 2004

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commencement of payments for progress on major projects. However, federal funding forenergy projects has been reduced dramatically because of the lack of consensus in Congresson the US National Energy Policy. These major cutbacks will affect the entire industry, includingSuperPower, and are unlikely to be rectified within the present federal fiscal year, ending
September 2004. Consequently, Intermagnetics expects to increase fourth-quarter funding for
SuperPower by approximately US $ 1 million over its initially planned figure.
Source:“Intermagnetics Comments on Contribution of Invivo Acquisition, Provides Update on Core
Business Operations”
Intermagnetics General Corporation press release (January 28, 2004)
http://ir.thomsonfn.com/InvestorRelations/PubNewsStory.aspx?partner=10215&storyId=10469
6Communication
Superconductor Technologies Inc. (January 9, 2004)
Superconductor Technologies Inc. (STI) has filed a shelf registration statement (FormS-3) with the Securities and Exchange Commission which, upon being declared effective by theSEC, will enable the sale of up to US $ 80 million in common stock. STI has not made anydecision regarding the timing, amount, or type of any public offering that may be made. M. Peter
Thomas, President and CEO of STI, commented “We have concluded that the filing of a shelfregistration statement would increase our flexibility and reduce the regulatory costs (in time andmoney) if we should conclude that STI would benefit from increased funding. STI has been
growing rapidly. We want to make sure we have access to any financing we may need to fundcontinued growth. This would include funds for manufacturing expansion, working capitalrequirements, new product or market development, and/or acquisitions. However, we have notmade any definitive plans for any offering, nor have we begun any process to select any
underwriters to conduct such an offering.”
Source:“Superconductor Technologies Announces Filing of Shelf Registration Statement”
Superconductor Technologies Inc. press release (January 9, 2004)
http://ir.thomsonfn.com/InvestorRelations/PubNewsStory.aspx?partner=5951&storyId=101025

Accelerator
Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (January 20, 2004)
The first of five solenoids that will constitute the compact muon solenoid (CMS)
superconducting magnet component of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) was shipped on
January 21 from a Genova port to CERN, the site of the accelerator’s construction.
Researchers hope that the CMS experiment will provide information on the elusive Higgs boson,
an elementary particle that has been predicted but not yet directly observed. The CMS
experiment will analyze the products of the collisions of proton beams directed by the LHC,
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Date of Issue: March 1, 2004

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reconstructing their tracks and measuring their energy. The CMS magnet, which is the centralcomponent of the CMS experiment, will generate the very high magnetic field required torecognize the particles produced by the collisions. The CMS magnet is being produced by aninternational partnering of research centers: the Italian National Institute for Physics (INFN),
CERN, the Commissariat pour l’Energie Atomic (CEA), the Polytechnic of Zurich (ETH-Z), andAnsaldo Superconductors.
Source:“The first module of CMS superconducting magnet is leaving towards CERN”
Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare press release (January 20, 2004)
http://www.infn.it/(Akihiko Tsutai, Director, International Affairs Department, ISTEC)

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