American Superconductor Corporation (NASDAQ:AMSC) has has signed a cost-plus-fee contract valued at $5.3 million with the US Navy’s Naval Sea Systems Command for the design and optimization of high temperature superconductor (HTS) ship propulsion motors and power electronic drives. American Superconductor is currently performing final assembly and component testing of its 36.5-MW HTS propulsion motor for the Office of Naval Research at a Northrop Grumman Marine Systems facility within the Philadelphia Naval Business Center. The motor weighs approximately 75 tons and is one-half the size and one-third the weight of traditional copper-based propulsion systems. Factory testing is expected to be completed prior to the Navy taking possession of the motor around the end of calendar 2006.
The company anticipates that the new contract award will be the first in a series of contracts with the U.S. Navy that, when carried forward, will yield a militarized class standard HTS production propulsion motor suitable for U.S. and allied navy warships.
“This first in what we are confident will be a series of contracts from the United States Navy, will enable us to continue optimizing HTS motors and power electronic drives for use in future surface combatants as well as other classes of naval vessels. It will also strengthen the foundation for adoption of these revolutionary advanced motors in a broad set of commercial ship types,” said Greg Yurek, chief executive officer and founder of American Superconductor.”