SuperPower News Release

August 31, 2015 – Schenectady, New York – SuperPower Inc., a proud sponsor of the 12th European Conference on Applied Superconductivity (EUCAS 2015) being held in Lyon France, from September 6th to the 10th, will be a participating exhibitor highlighting its state-of-the-art second-generation high temperature superconductor (2G HTS) wire, which is the enabling component for many energy-efficient and power dense devices, each of which can benefit from unique wire specifications.

SuperPower has maintained a long tradition of setting and then breaking industry trends, especially for the development of stronger superconducting magnets like those being developed by the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory (NHMFL) located at the Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida, USA. Earlier this year, the NHMFL's superconducting test magnet system achieved a field of 27 T, 3.5 T stronger than the strongest superconducting magnet currently in operation right here in Lyon, France. SuperPower supplied the Advanced Pinning (AP) wire used for the insert coil, providing 12 T toward the 27 T, operating at the same 4.2 K temperature as the 15 T LTS outsert coil, but because its Hc2 is higher, this HTS insert using AP wire can remain superconducting at a much higher magnetic field than the LTS and other coils constructed with other HTS wire. As reported, the final goal is the 32 T system, also utilizing SuperPower AP wire, will be able to run longer hours, be cheaper to operate and offer important advantages over LTS devices.

SuperPower's AP wire was utilized by its parent company, Furukawa Electric Co, Ltd. (FEC) as well, in the Railway Technical Research Institute's (RTRI) project to develop the world's largest superconducting flywheel power storage system. Other partners in the project include Kubotek Corporation, Mirapro Co., Ltd., and Public Enterprise Bureau of Yamanashi Prefecture and is supported by New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO). The AP wire was used to construct the superconducting magnet of the flywheel's magnetic bearing. The construction of the 300-kW output capacity and 100-kW storage capacity flywheel has been completed and is now in the test phase.

SuperPower's enhanced AP wire is a direct result of improved manufacturing processing and process controls. “The enhanced AP wire is consistently demonstrating a 30% improvement in 4.2 K performance,” Yusei Shirasaka, President and Treasurer, noted. “We have seen improvements across many temperature ranges as well as longer piece lengths.” Also in development is a 15% Zr wire which promises higher Ic performance under 50 K. However, further work and qualification testing is needed before its official release, expected in mid-2016.

Additionally, SuperPower continues to develop its thinner substrate material, initially developed at the request of a number of customers looking to benefit from the additional current density to be gained from the thinner wire, and which will further promote the benefits of enhanced AP wire for smaller size and lower weight of devices.

For more information on these and other 2015 Technological and Manufacturing Innovations at SuperPower, please contact us at sales@superpower-inc.com.

SuperPower is a Platnimum Sponsor for this year's EUCAS and will be located in exhibition booth #1. If you are planning to attend EUCAS and would like to schedule a meeting, please contact us at info@superpowerinc. com. Our parent company, Furukawa Electric Co. Ltd., will also be in attendance at booth #28 with the latest on its LTS developments.

Mickey Lavicska – Director, Sales & Marketing
SuperPower Inc.
450 Duane Ave., Schenectady, NY 12304 USA
Tel: (518) 346-1414 ext. 3070
Mobile: (518) 257-0322
E-mail: mlavicska@superpower-inc.com

SuperPower Inc. a subsidiary of Furukawa Electric Co., Ltd. (TSE:5801; TYO:5801), was formed in March 2000 to develop and commercialize high temperature superconductor (HTS) technology for applications that benefit from high energy density, high magnetic fields and green attributes, including energy, medical, transportation, research and other sectors. To learn more, visit www.superpower-inc.com.