 News Update 13 May 2005 Welcome
back to Superconductivity News Update! You
may recall that this electronic newsletter circulated from 1999 through the
end of 2003. Now, we are happy to
announce its resumption by Bob Lawrence &
Associates, working on behalf of the Superconductivity
Program in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office
of Electric Transmission and Distribution. Superconductivity
News Update focuses on accomplishments and innovations of the
high-temperature superconductivity community at laboratories and in industry in
the Our
primary goal is to keep key stakeholders informed and aware of developments
that are bringing high-temperature superconductivity ever closer to full
implementation in the nation’s electric power infrastructure. Because the last issue of this newsletter
was in December 2003, this issue covers a broader timeframe than future
newsletters will cover. Besides
providing enormous potential benefits to the world’s electric power systems,
superconductivity companies and laboratories are creating local economic
development, jobs and new opportunities in communities across the
country. This newsletter will seek to
capture some of the essence of these economic benefits, as well as the many
other benefits offered by superconductivity, such as power reliability and
quality, environmental benefits and a boosting of American international
competitiveness. Superconductivity
is poised to deliver reliability, robust capacity and efficiency to our
nation’s electric power grid. Because
of their inherently low resistance losses, new superconducting power
applications will have the potential to revolutionize the way we generate and
receive electricity — to create a superhighway for electricity much like what
fiber optics did for the telecommunications industry. If
you have any questions or comments, please contact Craig Cox, whose contact
information is provided at the end of this newsletter. We
hope you enjoy this newsletter and look forward to staying in touch with you. Superconductivity News
Update 13
May 2005 In this issue: President Bush calls for reduced U.S.
dependence on foreign oil New York energy companies get a “Bush
Boost”\\ Superconductors ready to ramp up for the
real world New wave of electrical wires inches
closer to market Leaders in superconductor wire
development named superconductor industry person of the year Governor Pataki breaks ground for new
superconducting cable project Widespread use of high-temperature
superconductors on horizon Superconductivity technology updates
available on U.S. DOE website Wright-Patterson nears power breakthrough San Diego contractor a lift for Navy Rockwell Automation Signs Cooperative
Agreement with SuperPower, Inc. Los Alamos develops new coating
technology What
is a Fault Current Limiter?. American Superconductor: ‘more power’ to
developer kits Harnessing wind energy with D-VAR®
systems High capacity power distribution cable
successfully demonstrated in China’s electric power network American Superconductor showcases its high
temperature superconductor products at Hannover Fair 2005 $5M grant funds college training programs
for SuperPower workers Tiny superconductors withstand stronger
magnetic fields President Bush calls for reduced
—Asks Congress for comprehensive
energy legislation and highlights superconductivity in April appearances In
remarks
delivered to the U.S.-Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in
Bush
said that “we need an energy bill that will help us modernize our domestic
energy infrastructure. In some parts
of the country, homes and businesses are receiving 21st century power through
infrastructure built decades ago.
Transmission lines and pipelines and generating facilities are
deteriorating here in A
week later, on 27 April, President Bush echoed the same themes in a speech
to the National Small Business Conference in “[a]s we conserve energy
at home and on the road, technology will help us deliver it more efficiently.
New technologies such as
superconducting power lines can help us bring our electrical grid into the
21st century, and protect American families and businesses from damaging
power outages.” —SuperPower CEO hails President’s remarks R.
J. Kelly reports in the Bush
touted [in his 27 April speech] “the importance of superconducting power
lines to improve the efficiency and reliability of delivering electricity.” “We’re
really pleased to see that we have the president’s attention,” said Philip Pellegrino,
chief executive of SuperPower, Inc. In his article, reporter Kelly added that
“[w]ith $13 million in U.S. Department of Energy
funding a key to the four-year Albany underground cable project, Bush’s
support of the technology is priceless.” Superconductors ready to ramp
up for the real world Peter
N. Spotts reports in the “More
recent discoveries led to some niche applications. But today, researchers are on the cusp of
applying that laboratory curiosity to a range of civilian and military
technologies. They could dramatically
boost the efficiency of everything from Navy destroyers to the wires that
bring electricity into homes and businesses.” “Superconductors
- as Onnes’ discovery is known - are being tested
as a way to dramatically cut the risk of widespread blackouts.” “It’s
going to work; it’s really going to work,” says an enthusiastic Robert Hawsey, director of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s New wave of electrical wires
inches closer to market —Performance of
wires made from yttrium, barium, copper, and oxygen is getting “tantalizingly
close” to what is needed to compete with conventional conductors Robert
F. Service writes in the “At
a meeting [in San Francisco, Calif.] last month, three companies reported
that they’ve developed manufacturing techniques to turn out YBCO wires up to
100 meters long; a few years ago, the best the industry could do was a mere
meter or so.” In
his article, Service details a number of technical advances that laboratories
and industry have made in overcoming issues related to commercializing
superconducting power applications. “Together,
these advances have enabled companies for the first time to come within striking
distance of the current-carrying benchmarks set down by the U.S. Department
of Energy (DOE) and sister organizations in other countries. DOE’s goals call
for 2G wire to carry 300 amps over 100 meters by 2006 and 1000 amps over 1
kilometer by 2010.” “‘We’re
getting to the point where it’s very interesting,’ says Dean Peterson, who directs
the YBCO superconducting tape development program at Los Alamos National
Laboratory in From
Science, Vol. 308, www.sciencemag.org,
Leaders in superconductor wire
development named superconductor industry person of the year Superconductor Week, the
leading publication on superconductor business and technology, announced on The
industry’s most prestigious international award in the development and
commercialization of superconductors goes to Alex Malozemoff,
Chief Technical Officer at American Superconductor Corp, and Venkat “Selva” Selvamanickam, Program Manager of Materials Technology at
SuperPower, Inc., a subsidiary of Intermagnetics General Corporation (see following story
for detailed profile of Selvamanickam). “The
most important achievements in superconductivity in 2004 were the
improvements in length and electrical performance of second generation (2G)
HTS wire,” commented Mark Bitterman, Superconductor
Week’s Executive Editor. “In naming
Dr. Selvamanickam and Dr. Malozemoff
jointly as Person of the Year 2004, we call particular attention to the
leadership of these two extraordinary scientists in developing 2G HTS wire. Their work in this exceedingly challenging
field is setting the pace in the global effort to bring superconductivity to
the forefront in addressing the most pressing needs of the 21st century.”
Glenn
Epstein, President and CEO of Intermagnetics
General, SuperPower’s parent company, commented: “Since
shortly after the discovery of HTS in 1986, Intermagnetics
has invested substantial resources in HTS technology--beginning with the
development and production of first generation conductor, and then moving,
with Selva as the chief proponent, to 2G wire more than six years ago. As we approach the advent of the
commercialization of 2G HTS wire, Intermagnetics is
gratified to see Selva’s dedication and leadership
recognized by his peers in the industry.” From
BusinessWire press release. —Venkat Selvamanickam Richard
A. D’Errico writes
in the 29 April 2005 edition of the [Albany] Business Review: “At 6 feet 4 inches, Venkat
Selvamanickam stands above his co-workers at SuperPower Inc…Selvamanickam
stands out among his peers in the superconducting industry as well…He is one
of the key figures behind SuperPower’s development
of high-temperature superconducting wires, which increase the reliability of
electric power transmission.” “Selvamanickam, 39, has been working on superconductivity since
1987, but he’s not jaded...’Superconductivity is really magical in a way,’ he
said. ‘I start getting goose bumps.’” D’Errico’s complete story on Venkat
Selvamanickam’s important contributions to his
company and to the progress of superconductivity is available at http://www.bizjournals.com/albany/stories/2005/05/02/focus1.html. Governor Pataki breaks
ground for new superconducting cable project On
“ Major
cities with extensive underground cable routes and radial wiring
configurations are key targets for this technology. This Peter
R. Smith, President of NYSERDA said, “This project exemplifies the kind of
technology we fund to improve our energy future, while providing potentially
significant economic development opportunities and environmental benefits.” Michael J. Kelleher, Senior Vice President
of Business Services and Economic Development, Niagara Mohawk, a National
Grid Company said, “Niagara Mohawk applauds NYSERDA’s
forward-looking investment in an innovation that will represent an important
advance in the delivery of energy to consumers. We’re pleased to be working with them on the
successful demonstration of this new technology.” To
date, NYSERDA has committed $6.7 million to IGC SuperPower
for HTS projects, including design-through-operation stages for a 5
megavolt-ampere HTS power transformer and the construction of a pulsed-laser
deposition facility for the manufacture of long-length, second-generation,
coated-conductor HTS wire, which will be demonstrated at this site. From
Governor Pataki’s press
release of Intermagnetics announces agreement between superpower subsidiary and American
Electric Power on MFCL project —SuperPower and AEP to collaborate on Matrix Fault Current
Limiter project; AEP commits to serve as host utility for transmission-level
voltage device Intermagnetics General Corporation
announced on Glenn
H. Epstein, chairman and CEO of Intermagnetics said,
“This is a significant move forward in the program as it will allow for the
installation and demonstration of a 138 kV, three-phase, Beta prototype MFCL
device at an AEP transmission substation.” SuperPower
successfully completed a proof-of-concept prototype MFCL device in July 2004
and is now in the design stage of developing and testing a single phase,138 kV Alpha prototype device. Richard
Verret, senior vice president - transmission at
American Electric Power said, “By formalizing its collaboration with SuperPower, AEP is building on its early membership on SuperPower’s MFCL Technical Advisory Board. We look forward to hosting the world’s first
demonstration of a transmission level superconducting fault current limiter. Our commitment to the development of this
device is evidence of the need we have seen for this technology for at least
20 years. That need
will increase as the demand for reliable electricity continues to
grow. This technology can help us
address the challenge of maintaining a reliable grid at the lowest possible
cost. The MFCL is being designed to
integrate effectively with existing assets.” The
$12.2 million MFCL development program has been underway at SuperPower since June 2002. Early in the project, the Electric Power
Research Institute (EPRI), a non-profit energy research consortium of
utilities, committed $600,000 toward the effort. The U. S. Department of Energy announced
program funding of $6.1 million in August 2003 and, at the same time, SuperPower announced that Nexans
SuperConductors GmbH had joined the development
team as a strategic partner in the project. Nexans is
supplying its patented “melt cast” superconductors for the device and is
sharing the uncovered costs of the program with SuperPower. James
Daley, superconductivity program director at the U. S. Department of Energy
said, “The electric power industry has great interest in new technologies for
grid reliability enhancement. The MFCL
has the potential to protect at transmission level voltages, where there are
no conventional alternatives. There is
an immediate need that the MFCL could fill, and it also promises to be a cost
effective solution.” SuperPower executed a Cooperative Research and
Development Agreement (CRADA) with Oak Ridge National Laboratory to tap the
lab’s substantial expertise in high voltage engineering and cryogenics. Similar agreements may also be executed with
Clark
Gellings, vice president of power delivery and
markets at EPRI, said, “The MFCL that is being developed by SuperPower and Nexans is a
superconducting technology that is needed by utilities today. It addresses present day challenges that are
being faced by utilities as new sources of power are being added to existing
transmission & distribution systems, leading to increased fault current.” From
SuperPower press release. Related
story: “Superpower
Inventors Receive 2005 ‘Inventor of the Year’ Award” Intermagnetics’ Superpower subsidiary achieves new world-record performance in second-generation
HTS wire —Achieves 7,000
Amp-Meters in 100-meter 2G HTS wire Intermagnetics General Corporation’s
Energy Technology subsidiary, SuperPower, Inc.,
announced on Glenn
H. Epstein, chairman and chief executive officer of Intermagnetics,
said, “The achievement of 100 meter 2G wire piece lengths is of particular
significance as we work toward product commercialization, since this is the
minimal piece length that will be required for fabricating commercial
devices. SuperPower continues to demonstrate its
position as a global leader in 2G wire performance as we move toward scale-up
to commercial manufacturing. “Annual
production capacity in 2006 is planned to be about 1,000,000 meters, which
can easily be scaled up or down to meet market requirements due to the
modularity of our production processes.” William
Parks, then-Acting Director, Office of Electric Transmission and Distribution
at the Department of Energy (DOE), noted that, “This latest in a series of
industrial partner achievements helps to validate DOE’s
decade-long investment on behalf of the taxpayer in HTS technology. We must maintain this momentum and the
associated funding by the federal government to enable manufacturing scale-up
and commercialization by domestic companies.” SuperPower also announced that it recently provided
the first shipment of 2G HTS wire for the Albany HTS Cable Project. Philip J.
Pellegrino, president of SuperPower, said, “We recently
supplied more than 60 meters of wire to Sumitomo Electric Industries for
testing a one meter HTS cable, in advance of the 30 meter 2G HTS cable
section that will be installed in 2006. SuperPower plans
on supplying a total of 8,000 meters of 2G wire for the SuperPower reports that much of the progress being
made is the result of work being done under a Cooperative Research and
Development Agreement (CRADA) with Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). This spans a wide range of topics and has
enabled SuperPower to develop overall superior 2G
wire. From
SuperPower press release. Intermagnetics Subsidiary approaches commercial viability for second-generation HTS
wire with new performance milestone Intermagnetics General Corporation’s
Energy Technology subsidiary, SuperPower, Inc.,
announced on “Achieving
better than 10,000 amp-meter performance propels SuperPower
past an important threshold as we approach our fundamental objective of
consistent production of commercially viable HTS technology,” said Glenn H.
Epstein, chairman and chief executive officer of Intermagnetics.
“The 100-meter length is considered a
key parameter to enable utilizing HTS wire in device applications. We continue to be on track for commercial
viability before the end of 2005 and for full scale production in 2006.” Philip
J. Pellegrino, president of SuperPower, added: “It
is particularly significant that this new milestone was achieved with wire
produced by SuperPower’s proprietary MOCVD (metal
organic chemical vapor deposition) process. We believe our MOCVD process is capable of
producing wire at a much higher throughput than competing processes, which we
expect will result in a competitive advantage. We have obtained significant and encouraging
improvements in the stability of the process, as well as uniformity of
performance.” In
addition to announcing this new performance milestone at the DOE Wire
Development Workshop, Pellegrino also noted that SuperPower
achieved critical currents of greater than 400 amperes in short samples, 265
amperes over 1 meter and 200 amperes over 8 meters. The critical currents indicated are per
centimeter width and all the wires were produced with MOCVD. SuperPower’s 2G HTS wire development effort has
received consistent funding from the DOE since 2000. The company also has Cooperative Research
and Development Agreements (CRADAs) with several of
the National Laboratories, including a two-year, $3.4 million CRADA with Los
Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) to scale up second-generation HTS
technology to manufacturing. The program is also jointly funded under Title
III of the Defense Production Act by DOE and the U.S. Department of Defense
(DOD). From
SuperPower press
release. Widespread use of
high-temperature superconductors on horizon PhysOrg.com
reported on Venkat Selvamanickam, program
manager of materials technology at SuperPower Inc.
in As
PhysOrg.com reports, second-generation HTS conductors will have applications…in
advanced MRIs and better transmission lines…[t]he
discovery of high-temperature superconductors that can operate using
inexpensive liquid nitrogen as a coolant has opened doors to applying
superconductivity to electric power devices. These HTS devices offer both performance
advantages and environmental benefits.” From
PhysOrg.com. Superconductivity technology
updates available on The
website of the United States Department of Energy’s Office of Electric
Transmission and Distribution (OETD) has a detailed list of technology
updates related to the department’s Superconductivity
Program. This
site’s current documents include:
Proceedings of the 2005 DOE
Wire Development Workshop in December 2004 HTS
Cable – Status, Challenge and October 2004 Presentation
and awards
from the 2004 Superconductivity, Post Peer Review Meeting, May 2004 July 2003 Proceedings
of the Coated Conductor Development Roadmap Workshop II, July 2003 Proceedings of the 2003
DOE Annual Peer Review Meeting, Information sheets on the
latest techniques for making coated superconductor wire: Wright-Patterson nears power
breakthrough —Superconducting
generator would change air combat Timothy
R. Gaffney writes
in the “The
Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson is preparing to award a
contract…to demonstrate an electrical system with a superconducting
generator, a device the size of a beer keg that can power a small city - or
the next generation of airborne energy weapons.” […] “Such
a system opens the door to so-called directed energy weapons that need
megawatts of electric power, from metal-piercing lasers to electromagnetic
beams that can disable weapons or shock troops without killing.” […] “Once
developed for weapons, researchers say, the superconducting generator
technology will find a wider range of airborne uses. ‘We believe superconducting is not just an
enabler for directed energy weapons but an enabler for all of the Air Force
platforms for the future,’ commented Lt. Col. JoAnn
Erno, chief of the Power Division in AFRL’s Propulsion Directorate. “We really think it is a technology that is
going to be a game-changer.”
—“Superconducting motor
promises gentler rides and cost savings” In
the 8 April 2005 San Diego Union-Tribune, Reporter Bruce V. Bigelow writes
about the development of a new electromagnetic aircraft launch system for
Navy carriers that uses a 36.5-megawatt superconducting DC electric motor for
ship propulsion. Bigelow
writes that the “electric-based designs would replace the steam-powered
catapults and hydraulic landing systems now used aboard carriers. Because the electronic systems can be
calibrated more precisely, the forces exerted during carrier takeoffs and
landings should be smoother.” “It’s
a gentler ride for the aircraft and the pilot,” said Michael R. Reed, vice
president of General Atomics’ electromagnetic systems division. The systems also will be less costly to
operate and easier to maintain, he said. When
implemented, this project could lead to significant cost savings for the
Navy, as these quotes from Bigelow’s article illustrate: “The Navy estimates that an electromagnetic
aircraft launcher also will need about 30 percent fewer sailors to operate
and will require far less maintenance than steam-powered catapults” —Michael R. Reed, vice president of General
Atomics electromagnetic systems division. “Ships could potentially go out on a mission and
use half the power, and that is a big deal for the Navy. The Navy burns a lot of fuel. It is a significant part of the budget.” —Steve Schreppler,
program officer for electric ship propulsion systems at the Office of Naval
Research comments that —Rockwell
scientists hope research puts them at the front of an energy revolution Rick
Barrett reports
in the “It’s
a short piece of superconductor wire that, when cooled to about minus 325
degrees Fahrenheit, can carry as much electricity as a copper cable several
inches thick.” “Unlike
conventional cable, there’s almost no energy loss in the superconductor wire
because it has no measurable resistance to electric current. In the real world, that could mean $50,000 a
year in energy savings for a 5,000-horsepower industrial motor running 24
hours a day, seven days a week.” Barrett
adds that the U.S. Department of Energy estimates that large motors (greater
than 1,000 horsepower) use more than one-third of the electricity produced in
the Barrett
goes on to report that Rockwell has about a dozen scientists developing
superconductor motors and says that Rockwell has demonstrated some of the
world’s first superconductor motors, including a 1,600 horsepower model in
Cleveland. The company recently agreed
to work with SuperPower Inc., of Rockwell Automation Signs
Cooperative Agreement with SuperPower, Inc. —Moves closer to
commercial release of high-efficiency motors and generators Rockwell
Automation, Inc. of Greenville, S.C. announced
on 16 November 2004 that it has signed an exclusive agreement with SuperPower, Inc. of Schenectady, NY to work together to
design, develop, build and install High-Temperature Superconducting (HTS)
electric motors and generators for high-horsepower commercial, industrial and
military applications. Superconducting
motors have been identified as a key emerging technology for delivering significant
energy savings across a variety of industries. Under
terms of the agreement, Reliance™ industrial, commercial and marine motors
and generators will incorporate SuperPower’s
groundbreaking ceramic-based Second Generation (2G) coated conductor
technology. SuperPower
is developing a 2G HTS wire that demonstrates superior performance over
commonly used “first generation” wire. The enhanced current carrying performance at
higher operating temperatures makes SuperPower’s 2G
wire an essential component for more energy efficient and cost effective
industrial motors and generators. Since
1987, Rockwell Automation engineers have been pioneering new technologies to
make superconductivity a viable energy-saving solution. In 2001, Rockwell Automation demonstrated a 1600
horsepower superconducting motor using first generation wire. “The
results of our future efforts under this joint agreement will make a
significant impact on the successful commercialization of second-generation
HTS rotating machinery leading to cost-effective electric motors and
generators that are ultra-efficient, lighter, and substantially more power
dense than those that are available today,” said Joseph D. Swann, president, Rockwell
Automation Power Systems. “This is a
significant step forward in the continued development of the world’s first
commercial HTS motor and generator. We
are all extremely excited about the potential of this vital energy-saving
technology, as well as the total cost of ownership benefits it could provide
to our customers.” SuperPower president Philip J. Pellegrino added, “This
agreement validates SuperPower’s continued
commitment to the development and manufacture of enabling 2G HTS wire and highly
engineered applied devices. We believe
this collaboration will be absolutely critical to the ultimate success of
superconducting rotating machines.” The
Santa Fe New Mexican reported
in its “This
technology provides a cost-effective approach to grow electronic and optical
materials, which would find wide applications in any fields where the
material is needed in the film form,” Dean Peterson, director of the The
New Mexican goes on to point out that metal oxides are useful in photovoltaic
devices, gas sensors, microelectronics and
corrosion-protection devices. American Superconductor
and Siemens form strategic alliance to develop and commercialize advanced grid
reliability technology —‘Fault Current
Limiters’ to rely on second generation superconductor wire to improve performance
and decrease costs for new power grid reliability solution American
Superconductor Corporation and the Corporate Technology unit of Siemens AG announced
on Prior
to establishing this alliance, Siemens and AMSC, in close contact with
electric utilities across Europe, Canada and the U.S., defined specific
customer needs that meet their performance and economic requirements for
today’s complex power networks. Based
on their input, the companies jointly crafted a roadmap to demonstrate FCLs based on AMSC’s 2G HTS
wire and Siemens’ fault current limiter design. Under
the terms of their agreement, Siemens will develop performance requirements
for its FCL design and AMSC will tailor its standard 2G HTS wire to meet
those specifications. Siemens and AMSC
have been involved in developing fault current limiters since the beginning
of the 1990s, utilizing different configurations of available HTS materials. The first deliveries of 2G HTS wire to
Siemens are expected to be made from AMSC’s
pre-pilot manufacturing line in 2005. What is a Fault Current
Limiter? When a short circuit
occurs in an electrical transmission or distribution system, an electrical
generator feeding power into that system responds by creating a surge of
current throughout the grid. Unless
circuit breakers open up to stop this surge (technically, a “fault current”),
it can damage expensive equipment, such as transformers, located in
electrical substations and elsewhere on the grid. As grids around the world grow, the current
level in the surges grows, increasing the need for utilities to upgrade
breakers or consider other solutions such as FCLs
that protect the grid. Worldwide, the
resulting cost to electric utilities amounts to hundreds of millions of
dollars each year, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. A fault current limiter
(also called a fault current controller) uses superconductors to
instantaneously limit electrical surges -- or reduce them to more normal
levels -- before they reach a circuit breaker. (Fault current limiters based on
conventional electrical conductors do not exist. Only superconductors possess the unique
physical properties that allow them to react instantaneously to current
changes, passing electricity along at normal levels while dampening the
surges.) To learn more about FCLs please see http://www.amsuper.com/products/htsWire/FaultCurrentLimiters.cfm
and http://www.electricity.doe.gov/. American Superconductor receives
HTS wire order from Ultera for —American
Superconductor selected to join Ultera/Department
of Energy superconductor cable project team American
Superconductor Corporation announced
on The
U.S. Department of Energy is providing half of the $8.65 million of funding
for this cable demonstration project.
When complete in the summer of 2006, the HTS cable is expected to
supply power to approximately 8,200 residential and industrial AEP
customers. The new cable would replace
existing overhead aluminum bus in the 13 kV portion of the substation. Details of the project are available at http://www.electricity.doe.gov/documents/columbus_cable.pdf. “Superconductivity
is one of several promising technologies that we expect to play a significant
role in solving the nation’s power grid problems,” said Kevin Kolevar, Director of DOE’s
Office of Electricity and Energy Assurance.
“This project is a very important step in the development of new, high
capacity HTS cables that are necessary to assure the security and reliability
of the nation’s power networks.” Ultera is a joint venture between two of the world’s
leading wire and cable firms, Southwire Company,
located in “We
decided to use AMSC’s wire in our HTS cable after a
thorough evaluation of HTS wires from vendors around the world,” said Stuart
Thorn, chief executive of Southwire. “AMSC’s wire is
clearly the best in class. And we are
proud to have them join our project team because of their deep experience and
knowledge in superconductivity and transmission planning, both of which are
vital to the successful deployment of HTS power cable systems.” AMSC
has joined the Ultera/DOE project team that, in
addition to the host electric utility, AEP, comprises Praxair for cryogenic
systems, TechCenter for power controls, and Oak
Ridge National Laboratory for supporting technology and research. “We
are honored to join this outstanding industry-government partnership and to
have been selected as the HTS wire supplier for this important cable project,”
said Greg Yurek, AMSC’s
chief executive. “We believe this
project represents another key step in the growth of the new worldwide HTS
industry and in the creation of solutions for our nation’s aging power grid.” American Superconductor: ‘more
power’ to developer kits Frank
J. Bartos, executive editor of Control
Engineering, writes on “The
PDK is an engineering and design kit said to free OEMs, VARs, system
integrators, and end-users from many complex but essential tasks associated
with power conversion. Kits are
available for 480 and 690 V ac inputs, and contain all tools needed to configure
American Superconductor’s PM1000 power converter with the application or
product under development.” Power conversion is a
vital factor in designing products for many applications. Examples include motor drives (ship
propulsion, industrial automation, transportation, etc.); distributed
generation (fuel cells, wind turbines, and photovoltaics);
and distributed power networks (standard and uninterruptible power supplies,
and flywheel-backup systems). From http://www.manufacturing.net/ctl/article/CA498330?spacedesc=industryUpdates Harnessing wind energy
with D-VAR® systems American
Superconductor Corporation’s proprietary D-VAR® systems are being
increasingly used around the world to provide voltage-control solutions for windfarms, as evidenced by the following recent news
stories: 26
April 2005: American Superconductor Corp. has
received an order for one of its D-VAR voltage regulation systems to provide
centralized control of the voltage for a zero-emission wind farm in It is the ninth wind farm in the 6
April 2005: American
Superconductor and GE Energy Receive Order for Low Voltage Ride- Through
(LVRT) Solution for Hawaiian Wind Farm American Superconductor
Corporation and GE Energy announced that they have been selected by Hawi Renewable Development LLC (HRD) to provide a voltage
control solution for the Hawi Wind Farm project
located near Upolo Point on the Construction of the HRD wind
farm, which will generate 10.56 megawatts (MW) of zero-emission electricity,
is scheduled to be completed in November 2005. The wind farm will utilize 16 Vestas V47 wind turbine generators. 23
February 2005: American
Superconductor Receives New D-VAR(R) Order for Connection of Canadian Wind
Farm with Electric Transmission Grid American Superconductor
Corporation announced a new order for one of its D-VAR voltage regulation
system for the Kettles Hill wind farm near the U.S.-Canadian border --
bringing to eight the number of wind-farm customers to select AMSC’s products for connecting their power generation
facilities reliably and safely to the electric transmission grid. The Kettles Hill project is
located in the vicinity of Pincher Creek at the southern end of 5
January 2005: American
Superconductor Books Additional Order for Wind Farm Voltage Regulation System American Superconductor
Corporation announced the sale of its D-VAR(R) voltage regulation system to
the prime contractor for a Nebraska-based wind farm -- the seventh time
customers have chosen AMSC’s products to reliably and safely interconnect major wind-generated
power facilities to the electrical transmission grid. The Ainsworth Wind Turbine
Project will be located south of High capacity power distribution
cable successfully demonstrated in China’s electric power network —Superconducting
power cable a key step in upgrading American
Superconductor Corporation announced
on The
Institute of Electrical Engineering (IEE), the Chinese Academy of Science (CAS),
and the Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry (TIPC, CAS),
collaborated on the project with the Changtong
Power Cable Company Ltd., who has operated the cable since December 2004 to
supply power for Changtong’s factories in Baiyin, Gansu Province. According
to Dr. Liye Xiao, director of the Academy’s Applied
Superconductivity Lab, the cable project is an important step in
demonstrating that high capacity HTS power cables are a viable means to help
meet the Chinese economy’s growing demand for electric power. “Demand
for electric power in Power
consumption in “There
is clearly an increasing demand in American
Superconductor reports that the Changtong cable one
of a number of similar demonstration projects underway around the world. The company says that additional cable
demonstrations that utilize AMSC’s wire include a
transmission-level power cable being manufactured by Nexans
for installation in the grid of Long Island Power Authority in East Garden
City, American Superconductor showcases
its high temperature superconductor products at —AMSC the sole American
Superconductor reported
that it exhibited at the Hannover Fair 2005, the
world’s leading showcase for industrial technology, in The
company reports that it was the only American company at the global trade
show’s special exhibition complex, “ American
Superconductor exhibited a model of its 36.5-megawatt (MW) HTS-based ship
propulsion motor as well as HTS wire manufactured at its The
international exhibition ran from April 11-15 and included more than 6,000
exhibitors from 60 countries. $5 million grant funds
college training programs for SuperPower workers Richard
A. D’Errico writes
in the 31 March 2005 issue of the [Albany] Business Review that SuperPower Inc., Union College, and Schenectady County
Community College have secured a $5 million matching grant to train a future
work force SuperPower says it needs as it ramps up
production of its superconducting cables. “SuperPower CEO Philip Pellegrino announced the news
Thursday during a breakfast of business leaders at “SuperPower, based in Quantum Design introduces new
high temperature superconductor-based product for physical property measurements —Electromagnetic
coils supplied by HTS-110, Ltd. utilizing American Superconductor Corp.’s HTS
wire at heart of new measurement system Quantum
Design, HTS-110 Ltd. and American Superconductor Corporation jointly announced on “We
are delighted to have built the electromagnetic coil for Quantum Design’s new
physical property measurement system,” said Geoff Todd, CEO of HTS-110. “We
believe this is one of many new commercial products that will utilize HTS
wire in the near future, and we believe we are strongly positioned Tiny superconductors
withstand stronger magnetic fields Ultra-thin
superconducting wires can withstand stronger magnetic fields than larger
wires made from the same material, researchers now report. This finding may be useful for technologies
that employ superconducting magnets, such as magnetic resonance imaging. As
described in the Jan. 14 issue of the journal Physical Review Letters,
researchers at the […] Because
nanoscale superconductors don’t repel magnetic
fields, they could prove useful in a variety of superconducting applications.
By incorporating nanowires
as filaments in bigger superconducting wires, for example, more current could
be carried without being destroyed by a magnetic field. The
work was performed by Alexey Bezryadin,
professor of physics at the From
ABOUT THIS UPDATE The
High-Temperature Superconductivity News Update is compiled by Bob Lawrence
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