| American Superconductor Power Quality Solution Now Europe's Longest Running Commercial Superconductor Power System |
WESTBOROUGH, Mass., June 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- American Superconductor Corporation (Nasdaq: AMSC), a leading global supplier of superconductor products and power electronic converters for the electric power industry, today announced that its commercial power quality superconductor magnetic energy storage (PQ-SMES) product is now Europe's longest continuously running electric power application based on superconductivity. On-line since June 1999, the industrial PQ-SMES has been operating to prevent momentary voltage sags from affecting an auto parts manufacturing facility in Gleisdorf, Austria, located in the Austrian province of Styria, an area known for its steel and high technology industries. The plant, Georg Fischer Moessner GmbH, produces original parts for automotive manufacturers including Audi, DaimlerChrysler, Ford, General Motors, Porsche and Volkswagen. The PQ-SMES system has been successfully protecting the plant from dozens of significant voltage problems per year, any one of which could result in costly damaged parts or tools and lost production time. Most of the site's voltage issues are the result of lightning strikes. Severe weather, traffic accidents and unforeseen equipment failures may lead to momentary drops in electrical voltage supplied by power lines. Although such "sags" may go unnoticed in typical home or office settings, a drop lasting just 100 milliseconds has the potential to halt or damage sensitive computer-controlled machinery and wreak havoc in manufacturing environments. Moessner reported sag-related expenses of EURO 150,000 in 1998, prior to installing the PQ-SMES unit. "Moessner prides itself on running a highly efficient and productive manufacturing operation," said Karl Taferner, product manager of Steweag-Steg GmbH. "They must have a reliable and high quality supply of power to keep the plant running at optimal performance. The American Superconductor PQ-SMES solution keeps manufacturing operations running efficiently saving the company hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost productivity and downtime." The PQ-SMES system, operated by the Steweag-Steg electric utility, has the ability to ride through sags lasting up to 0.8 seconds and up to a rated power of 1.4 megawatts. It can bridge power dips lasting even longer when the electric load is lighter. When it detects a voltage disturbance, the system immediately injects real and reactive power into the factory substation to stabilize the power entering the Moessner facility. AMSC's current product offering protects much higher electrical loads, typically greater than 5 megawatts. Since 1999, the Moessner facility has reported 79 voltage sags. Their longest sag was 1.7 seconds, and the deepest voltage sag was 80 percent of normal levels. Over the three-year period of operation, the PQ-SMES system allowed Moessner to ride through 10 sags in the second half of 1999, 38 in 2000, 24 in 2001 and 7 through late May 2002. "We're extremely pleased with the success American Superconductor's power quality solution is providing our customer," added Taferner. "Experience at the Moessner plant has become a show-piece for us with potential prospects. We believe, based on their interest, we soon will have new industrial customers for more power quality solutions." Housed in a portable 48-foot trailer, the PQ-SMES system integrates AMSC's proprietary PowerModule(TM) power electronic converters with its superconductor energy storage technology. The system provides both real and reactive power to electrical delivery networks to stabilize voltage levels. Under normal operating conditions, an electric utility grid is designed to minimize long power outages; however, severe weather, traffic accidents and unforeseen equipment failures can lead to momentary sags in electrical voltage on power lines. Eighty percent of these voltage sags last less than two seconds, which is sufficient to shut down entire industrial manufacturing plants. Maintaining high levels of power quality is increasingly important to today's manufacturers as more and more shop floor equipment incorporates sophisticated and sensitive digital electrical components that require clean, high quality power to operate. According to the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) the annual cost to U.S. industries from power outages and power quality problems is over US$100 billion. AMSC's PQ-SMES systems are designed to protect the power coming into manufacturing facilities from these types of short-duration power sags. About Steweag-Steg GmbH With a turnover of EURO 458 million and sales in 2001 of 9 terawatts of electricity, Steweag-Steg is the largest utility in south Austria. Formed by a merger with the Steg utility, the combined company provides electric power to 250,000 clients in the southern and eastern sections of the country. Its parent companies are ESTAG, a company with holdings in electricity, natural gas, district heating and waste management, and Verbundgesellschaft, one of the largest hydro-electric producers in Europe. Electricite de France owns a quarter of ESTAG's shares and the majority shareholder is the Federal State of Styria. About American Superconductor American Superconductor Corporation is a world leader in developing and manufacturing products using superconductor wires and power electronic converters for the electric power infrastructure. American Superconductor's products, and those sold by electrical equipment manufacturers that incorporate its products, can dramatically increase the bandwidth and reliability of power delivery grids, reduce manufacturing and operating costs, and conserve resources used to produce electric power. Founded in 1987, the company is headquartered in Westborough, Mass. For more information, visit http://www.amsuper.com. Any statements in this release about future expectations, plans and
prospects for the Company, including statements containing the words
"believes," "anticipates," "plans," "expects," "will" and similar expressions,
constitute forward looking statements within the meaning of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. There are a number of important
factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those
indicated by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include:
uncertainties regarding the Company's ability to obtain anticipated funding
from corporate and government contracts, to successfully develop, manufacture
and market commercial products, and to secure anticipated orders; the risk
that a robust market may not develop for the Company's products; the risk that
strategic alliances and other contracts may be terminated; the risk that
certain technologies utilized by the company will infringe intellectual
property rights of others; the competition encountered by the company,
including several large Japanese companies; the amount and timing of the
company's future cash requirements and the availability of satisfactory
financing sources. Reference is made to these and other factors discussed in
the "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results
of Operation" section of the Company's most recent quarterly or annual report
filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In addition, the
forward-looking statements included in this press release represent the
Company's views as of the date of this release. While the Company anticipates
that subsequent events and developments may cause the Company's views to
change, the Company specifically disclaims any obligation to update these
forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements should not be
relied upon as representing the Company's views as of any date subsequent to
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