SuperPower Reports Repeat of No. 1 Ranking for 2G HTS Program at 2004 U.S. DOE Peer Review

SuperPower Reports Repeat of No. 1 Ranking for 2G HTS Program at 2004 U.S. DOE Peer Review
09/22/2004

Intermagnetics’ SuperPower Subsidiary Reports Repeat of No. 1 Ranking for 2nd Generation HTS Wire Program at 2004 DOE Peer Review

Schenectady, NY - As reported in the Intermagnetics General Corporation Press Release dated August 4, 2004, SuperPower presented the results of its latest 12-month effort to scale-up to commercial production of 2nd generation HTS wire at the July 2004 DOE Annual Peer Review. These results enabled SuperPower to retain the No. 1 ranking among organizations involved in developing 2nd generation HTS technology, as initially earned during the 2003 DOE Annual Peer Review (see Intermagnetics Press Release dated October 2, 2003). This year, two organizations obtained the same top score, resulting in a tie for first place.

SuperPower was able to report

• World Record Achievement of 7,000 Amp-Meters in 100-Meter 2G HTS wire. 
• Enhanced facilities to enable routine production of 100 meter lengths of 2G wire. 
• Demonstration of critical currents of 380 amperes in a short sample, and up to 250 amperes in 1 meter lengths of 2G wire. 
• Fabrication of four electrical coils using about 25 meters of 2G HTS wire, delivered to Rockwell Automation for integration into a small demonstration HTS generator. This resulted in the world’s first demonstration of the use of 2G wire in a rotating machine. 
• Transition of high-throughput buffer layer technology developed at LANL to SuperPower’s pilot production facilities and fabrication of several 100 ampere, 2 meter 2G wires using this high-throughput processing technology. 
• Demonstration of linear speed greater than 10 meters/hour in every processing step to produce 2G wire. High throughput is essential for commercial viability. 
• Demonstration of industry-leading 2G wire performance in high magnetic fields, under mechanical strain and with the addition of electrical stabilization techniques. 
• Development of slitting technology to produce 4 mm wide 2G wire with at least 100 amperes/cm performance in lengths of several meters. 
• Development of a patent-pending photolithography process, demonstrating up to 100 times lower AC losses. 
• First shipment of 2G HTS wire to Sumitomo Electric Industries for the Albany HTS Cable Project. Sixty meters of SuperPower’s wire were fabricated into a one meter HTS cable for testing, the world’s first use of 2G wire in a practical 4 mm width in an HTS device. The measured ac losses were up to 20 times lower than previously demonstrated. Reduction in ac losses is an important factor in minimizing the associated cryogenic refrigeration requirements for HTS cables. 
• Receipt of R&D 100 Award for a tabletop X-Ray Diffraction system, developed in conjunction with X-Ray Optical Systems (East Greenbush, NY) and the New York State Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), that will measure the uniformity of both the buffer layer and the superconductor layer of the 2G HTS wire.

SuperPower’s focus on commercialization is evident through its effort to produce a high quality and practical end-product. The 4 mm wire width enables the HTS wire to be wound around small 16 mm diameter cable formers, while exhibiting superior bend and tensile strength, as well as power handling capability. High throughput processing methods continue to be refined with the goal of achieving a reasonable-cost replacement for copper wire. Peer Reviewers made positive note of the emphasis SuperPower continues to place on automation and monitoring of the processes.

Overall, SuperPower’s performance and results were rated as “world-class” by the Peer Reviewers. SuperPower scientists and engineers were commended for “maintaining good focus” on the program goals, resulting in “a remarkable year of achievements.” Reviewers commented on the strong teamwork in place at SuperPower, enabling remarkable achievements toward integrating a variety of new approaches quickly and successfully in spite of a variety of challenges, not the least of which is related to budgetary constraints at the Department of Energy and its National Labs. On the latter point, the Peer Reviewers commented that the program needs more funding support from DOE in fiscal year 2005.

In particular, it was noted that the sharing of expertise with the various DOE National Laboratories, including Los Alamos, Oak Ridge, Argonne and Brookhaven, continues to be top notch, as does SuperPower’s collaboration with other research entities including the Air Force Research Lab (AFRL), the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) several universities, and SuperPower’s project partners. In large part, these collaborations are credited with accelerating the technology progress and removing barriers to success.

Peer Reviewers continue to look for progress in SuperPower’s unique MOCVD approach to applying the superconducting material and applaud the excellent progress made to date.

Glenn H. Epstein, chairman and chief executive officer of Intermagnetics said, “SuperPower continues to demonstrate its position as a global leader in 2G wire performance. We are gratified to retain our No. 1 ranking among our peers in this effort and maintain our determination to become commercially viable in 2005, and in full scale production by 2006.”

Philip J. Pellegrino, president of SuperPower, added, “I continue to be extremely proud of the SuperPower development team as we continue to meet and beat each and every milestone set. The positive and constructive feedback received from this latest DOE Peer Review serves to confirm the path we have chosen to achieve commercialization of our 2G HTS technology.”

For access to the various presentations included in the 2004 Annual DOE Peer Review, please visit the following DOE web page:   http://www.energetics.com/supercon04.html

Contact:
Traute F. Lehner
MarCom and Logistics Specialist
SuperPower, Inc.
Tel.: 518-346-1414 ext. 3070
Fax: 518-346-6080
e-mail:  tlehner@igc.com