Oct 22 2013
Superconductor Technologies Inc. (STI), a world leader in the development and production of high temperature superconducting (HTS) materials and associated technologies, will exhibit its Conductus® superconducting wire at the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) Superconductivity Conference in Houston from Oct. 28th to 30th.
The electric utility focus of the conference addresses practical aspects of development, application, testing and service experience of superconducting equipment and system components for electrical power delivery applications.
"EPRI provides an excellent forum for STI and our customers to collaborate with industry-leading electric utilities to commercialize superconducting solutions," stated Adam Shelton, STI's VP of Marketing and Product Line Management. "The electric power industry is facing many challenges that threaten an electric utility's ability to deliver reliable and cost efficient power. These challenges include integration of renewable electricity, need for improved network efficiency, aging infrastructure, increased electrical demand and implementation of new Smart Grid technologies. Existing copper-based electrical conductors are inefficient and cannot support the growing energy demand or Smart Grid infrastructure."
"Advanced, high power superconducting transmission cables and superconducting fault current limiters (SFCLs) are cost-effective, high-performance alternatives to conventional, copper-based solutions. High power superconducting transmission cables reduce voltage and increase current, lowering right-of-way, civil work and environmental impact. SFCLs protect the grid from damaging faults and enable power sharing between substations and connectivity to new sources of renewable power. These solutions are all made possible with superconducting wire, which typically is composed of 100s of superconducting wire strands ranging from 3 meters to 1000 meters in length."
"STI is in the process of scaling capacity to commercialize our Conductus wire for applications like SFCLs and superconducting transmission cables. Our initial production machines have been installed in Austin, TX, with the final RCE-CDR production system, capable of 1km lengths, being installed in 2014," Shelton concluded.
Ken Pfeiffer, STI's VP of Engineering, will deliver a technology and product development milestone update presentation titled "Development of Low-Cost 2G HTS Coated Conductors at STI" on Tuesday, Oct. 29th. This presentation will highlight how STI's RCE-CDR superconducting wire manufacturing process addresses three key areas of opportunity in the superconducting wire market: high performance, improved economics and commercial-scale capacity.
About EPRI
The EPRI Superconductivity Conference is a biennial international forum for electric utility and superconductivity industry stakeholders. EPRI provides an international forum for electric utility and superconductivity industry stakeholders to develop a mutual understanding of the technology readiness, business potential and system operational requirements associated with transitioning to a superconducting power delivery system.
About Superconductor Technologies Inc. (STI)
Superconductor Technologies Inc., headquartered in Austin, TX, 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.
Source: http://www.suptech.com