American Superconductor Corporation (NASDAQ: AMSC), an energy technologies company, announced today that it has received a contract from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for a "smart grid" project in Manhattan.
Project HYDRA, which commenced in May 2007 under a letter contract with DHS, focuses on the development and deployment of AMSC’s Secure Super Grids technology in the power delivery network in Manhattan operated by Consolidated Edison Company of New York, Inc.
AMSC’s Secure Super Grids technology is a proprietary, system-level "smart grid" solution that utilizes high temperature superconductor (HTS) power cables and ancillary controls to deliver up to 10 times more power through the grid while at the same time suppressing power surges–or fault currents–that can disrupt service, according to a company release.
AMSC says the technology utilizes multiple paths for electricity flow in metropolitan power grids to ensure system redundancy when individual circuits are disrupted due to severe weather, traffic accidents or willful destruction. Secure Super Grids technology uses AMSC’s proprietary 344 superconductors.
Under the terms of the final contract, DHS will provide up to $25 million in total funding for the $39 million project. DHS has provided approximately $3.8 million of this total to date while AMSC and its partners have been working continuously on Project HYDRA under a letter agreement with DHS for the past eight months, the company says.
"This contract provides us with the resources necessary to fund this important project in Manhattan," said AMSC founder and CEO Greg Yurek. "There is a critical need to protect the electrical infrastructure of our nation’s cities, and our Secure Super Grids technology provides a unique approach to achieving this objective. We are making great headway on the project and look forward to its successful completion in 2010 to meet Con Edison’s construction schedule."
AMSC says the next major milestone for the project is the manufacture and testing of a 50-meter-long prototype HTS cable, which is expected to be accomplished by the end of 2008. Testing will be performed in conjunction with Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The full-scale, 300-meter-long HTS power cable system will connect two of Con Edison’s Manhattan substations and is scheduled to be installed and operating in 2010, in conjunction with Con Edison’s construction schedule. The system will require approximately 93 miles (150,000 meters) of AMSC’s 344 superconductors.
About American Superconductor
AMSC is an energy technologies company offering an array of solutions based on two proprietary technologies: programmable power electronic converters and high temperature superconductor (HTS) wires. AMSC offers grid interconnection solutions as well as licensed wind energy designs and electrical systems. As the world’s principal supplier of HTS wire, the company is enabling a new generation of compact, high-power electrical products, including power cables, grid-level surge protectors, Secure Super GridsTM technology, motors, generators, and advanced transportation and defense systems. AMSC also provides utility and industrial customers worldwide with voltage regulation systems that dramatically enhance power grid capacity, reliability and security, as well as industrial productivity. The company’s technologies are protected by a broad and deep intellectual property portfolio consisting of hundreds of patents and licenses worldwide.
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