Intermagnetics General Produces First Successfully Tested High-Temperature Superconducting Current Leads for Fermilab
Breakthrough Application Would Cut Refrigeration Requirements at Top Scientific Laboratory
July 20, 1998 10:02 AM
LATHAM, N.Y., July 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Intermagnetics General Corporation today announced that it has designed and delivered novel sets of
high-temperature superconducting (HTS) power leads, the first to pass demanding -- above 5,000-ampere -- requirements by Fermi National
Accelerator Laboratory in Illinois, for an application that would cut helium usage for power lead cooling by as much as 90 percent.
The new product is suitable for particle accelerators, colliders and other advanced scientific applications. A key potential customer is the
European consortium's laboratory CERN, located in Switzerland, where the major Large Hadron Collider (LHC) project is being developed
through a multi-billion dollar international effort. Other uses include any application employing cryo-cooled and superconducting magnets. Over
3,000 current leads are expected to be built for CERN. Intermagnetics estimates potential sales of the new product at $8 million to $12 million
over 4 years, beginning in the year 2000. The Company already has a contract with CERN to manufacture prototype leads for that project, and
expects to be involved in other phases of the overall program.
The successful test of Intermagnetics' Fermilab application met goals of:
* demonstrating a unique replacement technology for the conventional 5,000-ampere copper power leads presently used in the Tevatron
accelerator, with new HTS leads that have lower heat leak and use less liquid helium for cooling, thereby enabling the Tevatron to use the saved
refrigeration capacity for boosting energy levels of the machine.
* laying the groundwork for the development of very high current (greater than 12,000 ampere) power leads for possible use in CERN's Large
Hadron Collider, construction of which is now beginning.
Helium cooling used with the new leads was only about 10 percent of the level that was required with conventional copper leads, confirming that
the goal of substantial reduction in liquid helium usage can be realized. Additional tests are planned with even further reduced helium cooling to
explore the upper level capacity limits in performance of Intermagnetics' HTS leads.
Intermagnetics is the largest integrated developer and manufacturer in the United States, of superconducting LTS and HTS magnets, wire and
cable as well as associated low-temperature refrigeration equipment, and radio-frequency (RF) coils, the combination of which is essential to
successful application of superconductivity such as Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). The Company is dedicated to the development and
commercialization of applied superconductivity and refrigeration systems. The Company also supplies permanent magnet systems, materials
separation equipment and FRIGC(R) refrigerants as replacements for ozone-depleting refrigerants.
Safe Harbor Statement: This press release contains "forward-looking statements" that involve various important assumptions, risks,
uncertainties and other factors. These include, without limitation, the assumptions, risks, and uncertainties set forth in the Company's 1997
Form 10-K, including the Company's ability to win greater market acceptance for FRIGC and expanded product sales from APD as well as
continued strength and expansion in its core wire and MRI magnet markets.
SOURCE Intermagnetics General Corporation |
