Part 2 .... superconductivity
thestreet.com
This is part 2 of a column on superconductivity.
Power Player
Another player in the superconductor field is American
Superconductor (AMSC:Nasdaq - news), which
designs and manufactures superconductive high-power
density wires, power electronic modules and electricity
storage systems aimed at a $15-$20 billion annual
market. Its goal is to revolutionize the way we use
power. "Disruptive technology" guru, Harvard professor
Clayton Christensen, is on its board of directors.
The company's core product -- silver-sheathed,
powder-in-tube, multifilamentary composite HTS wire --
can carry 100 times the electrical current of
similar-sized copper wiring. Through a complex process
of bundling, extrusion, rolling and sintering, wire can be
fashioned into high-capacity power cables and HTS
coils for motors and generators. With wire being the
foundation of all electrical gear, such power densities
can dramatically increase the capacity and reliability of
power delivery networks, ease the burden of installing
new cables and shrink the size, weight, manufacturing
cost and operating expense of generators and motors.
(Note: Intermagnetics, too, is developing its own HTS
wire.)
American Superconductor appears to be nearing a
strategic inflection point: Its access to 250 patents and
manufacturing expertise is starting to produce wire for a
broad range of applications. Strategic partner Pirelli
Cables & Systems, for instance, is set to finish
installing the world's first HTS cables in a utility network
in a Detroit Edison substation next year, using 18
miles of American Superconductor's wire.
Targeting the power quality and reliability markets,
American Superconductor's superconducting magnetic
energy storage (SMES) products should drive sales
next year. SMES products store vast amounts of
electrical power -- more than 3 million watts -- in coils of
superconducting niobium-titanium (NbTi) wire, ready to
be discharged in the event of a voltage sag on the power
grid, caused for example, by lightning strikes or
equipment failure.
Acting as "virtual generators," the company's mobile
Distributed SMES (D-SMES), like the seven already
delivered to Wisconsin Public Service, are deployed
in trailers at key points throughout the grid, quickly and
economically increasing its reliability. Power Quality
SMES (PQ-SMES) is intended for use by large
manufacturers whose continuous operations can be
severely disrupted by even a brief voltage sag. American
Superconductor recently announced a major
co-branding marketing and sales alliance of its SMES
products with General Electric's (GE:NYSE - news)
GE Industrial Systems.
HTS wire may soon be applied to the mature electrical
motor industry as well. Motors convert electrical energy
into mechanical energy using strong magnetic forces.
Large, bulky industrial motors, those with power ratings
of 1,000 horsepower or more, consume 25% of
America's generated electricity. Using American
Superconductor's HTS windings in place of conventional
copper coils can cut motor size, weight and
manufacturing costs by up to 40%. They're intended for
use in large process industries like steel mills, pulp and
paper, chemical and oil refining.
Likewise, generators that convert rotational mechanical
input energy (from a steam or gas turbine) into
electricity are another enormous opportunity. General
Electric estimates worldwide demand for
superconducting generators in the next 10 years to be
$20 billion to $30 billion.
American Semiconductor's management believes its
SMES division will break even early in 2001 and the
company should reach overall profitability in 2002. A
350,000 square-foot plant will open that year, capable of
producing 10 million meters of HTS wire.
Breakout Application: Wireless
If MRIs were LTS' first widespread commercial success,
then wireless communications base station filters and
amplifiers, like those made by Superconductor
Technologies (SCON:Nasdaq - news), are HTS'
breakout products.
Depositing a thin film coating (only 50 microns thick) of
TBCCO (thallium, barium, calcium, copper and oxygen)
superconductor on a filter's resonator elements allows
radio frequency energy to pass through with an
extremely high rejection rate of undesirable signals,
while all but eliminating noise. Such high "Q-factor"
filters reduce the number of dropped calls, increase a
base station's capacity and range, improve voice and
data quality of service and extend customers' minutes
of use and handset battery life. In all, Superconductor
Technologies' filtering products hold a commanding
79% market share in its niche.
The Cellular Telecommunications Industry
Association projects more than 1 million base stations
will be installed worldwide by 2003 to provide wireless
telephony and Internet access. Wireless Design Online
puts the number of wireless subscribers at 1.26 billion
by 2006. Superconducting filters are seen as a key
enabling technology to continue this buildout.
With customers like United States Cellular
(USM:Amex - news) and Alltel (AT:NYSE - news),
Superconductor Technologies is making the transition
from the lab bench to the factory floor: Even as its
government contracts declined, commercial product
revenues recently leaped fivefold.
So what of the future? Japan is pressing ahead with its
frictionless Yamanashi maglev trains. Irvine Sensors
(IRSN:Nasdaq - news) received a $1 million contract to
research superconducting digital routers for high-speed
data. (Superconducting niobium-nitride is capable of
detecting a single photon, and can recognize changes
in fiber-optic signals operating at 25 gigahertz.)
And then there are Type 2 superconductors, whose
ability to function at even higher temperatures remains
unexplained. These include cuprate perovskites
(crystalline ceramics which include copper) and
organics like Cs3C60 Buckyballs (shaped like soccer
balls and named for the late Buckminster Fuller) that
may be used to speed blindingly fast petaflop
computers. To keep an eye on this important field,
check out www.superconductors.org. |
