SANTA BARBARA, Calif., Feb. 1, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Superconductor Technologies Inc. (Nasdaq:SCON) (“STI”), a world leader in the development and production of high temperature superconducting (HTS) materials and associated technologies, has successfully produced second generation (2G) HTS wire samples that meet requirements specified by customers for HTS AC power cable, superconducting fault current limiter (SFCL) and HTS wind turbine applications. Delivery of the samples for customer testing is expected to begin shortly. STI’s strategic 2G HTS wire program utilizes its specialized HTS material deposition processes and volume manufacturing expertise to produce energy efficient, cost-effective and high performance HTS wire for next generation power applications and other attractive new markets.
Jeff Quiram, STI’s president and chief executive officer, said, “Achieving our goal of completing all three wire samples is an enormous accomplishment for STI’s 2G HTS wire initiative. Each application has demanding technical requirements and our team worked very hard over the recent months to meet these wire performance objectives. We look forward to building on this success as we move closer to establishing future commercial relationships with our valued customers.”
STI’s 2G HTS wire product development is focused on large markets where the advantages of HTS wire are recognized by the industry. STI’s initial product roadmap targets three important applications:
- Superconducting High Power Transmission Cables: HTS advanced power transmission cable transmits five to twenty times the electrical power of traditional copper or aluminum cables with much improved efficiency.
- Superconducting Fault Current Limiters (SFCL): SFCLs act like powerful surge protectors, preventing harmful faults from taking down costly substation equipment. SFCLs enable the energy efficient connections of distributed power sources to the grid, fast reliable grid protection, and utilize smart grid design criteria.
- Superconducting Wind Turbine Generators: Superconducting wind turbines allow utilities to add more “power per tower” by significantly reducing turbine size and weight and improving power generation efficiency.
About Superconductor Technologies Inc. (STI)
Superconductor Technologies Inc., headquartered in Santa Barbara, CA, has been a world leader in HTS materials since 1987, developing more than 100 patents as well as proprietary trade secrets and manufacturing expertise. For more than a decade, STI has been providing innovative interference elimination and network enhancement solutions to the commercial wireless industry. The company is currently leveraging its key enabling technologies, including RF filtering, HTS materials and cryogenics to develop energy efficient, cost-effective and high performance second generation (2G) HTS wire for existing and emerging power applications, to develop applications for advanced RF wireless solutions and innovative adaptive filtering, and for government R&D. Superconductor Technologies Inc.’s common stock is listed on the NASDAQ Capital Market under the ticker symbol “SCON.” For more information about STI, please visit http://www.suptech.com.
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Safe Harbor Statement
“Safe Harbor” statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Statements in this press release regarding our business that are not historical facts are “forward-looking statements” that involve risks and uncertainties, including without limitation, the risk that this offering will not close. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are inherently subject to uncertainties and other factors which could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements. These factors and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: our limited cash and a history of losses; the limited number of potential customers; the limited number of suppliers for some of our components; there being no significant backlog from quarter to quarter; our market being characterized by rapidly advancing technology; fluctuations in product demand from quarter to quarter; the impact of competitive filter products, technologies and pricing; manufacturing capacity constraints and difficulties; and local, regional, and national and international economic conditions and events and the impact they may have on us and our customers, such as the current worldwide recession.
Forward-looking statements can be affected by many other factors, including, those described in the “Business” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” sections of STI’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2009 and in STI’s other public filings. These documents are available online at STI’s website, www.suptech.com, or through the SEC’s website, www.sec.gov. Forward-looking statements are based on information presently available to senior management, and STI has not assumed any duty to update any forward-looking statements.
Contact
For further information please contact Investor Relations, invest@suptech.com, Cathy Mattison or Mary Magnani of Lippert / Heilshorn & Associates, +1-415-433-3777, for Superconductor Technologies Inc.
