WESTBOROUGH, Mass. and SUNNYVALE, Calif., Oct. 7, 2004. American Superconductor Corp. and Northrop Grumman Marine Systems today announced a strategic business alliance to sell, market, and develop products for the U.S. military based on high temperature superconductor (HTS) wire.
The joint sales and marketing effort will focus initially on HTS electric propulsion motors for the U.S. Navy.
The alliance covers development of HTS propulsion systems, energy storage and conversion, transformers and pulse-power applications, as well as the sale of these products to all branches of the U.S. military. HTS technology offers significant advantages to the military in terms of power density and higher electrical efficiency, which translates into increased payloads and operational flexibility.
Currently, the two companies are collaborating on development of a 36.5- megawatt (MW) HTS ship propulsion motor under contract to the U.S. Navy's Office of Naval Research. The companies also are working together to qualify this advanced motor design as a strong alternative to conventional motors and other advanced motor designs for insertion in the 2008 timeframe for U.S. Navy application.
"We have achieved impressive results to date on the 36.5-MW program," said James Hupton, vice president of Northrop Grumman Marine Systems, which is based in Sunnyvale, Calif. "We are confident that this effort will demonstrate the advantages of HTS technology for marine propulsion systems for the U.S. Navy, specifically high power density and high efficiency systems."
"Together, AMSC and Northrop Grumman provide a respected, innovative, and leading edge capability for military customers pursuing transformational HTS technology," said Greg Yurek, chief executive officer of AMSC. "This new strategic business alliance adds considerable strength to our sales, marketing and development of current and future HTS-based solutions for all branches of the U.S. military."
The agreement, which has an initial duration of six years, is limited to products for the U.S. military that are based on HTS wire. For additional information about AMSC's marine propulsion HTS motor development program, see www.amsuper.com/products/motorsGenerators/shipPropulsion.html.
Northrop Grumman Marine Systems is a component of the company's Baltimore, Md.-based Electronic Systems sector, which designs, develops, and manufactures defense and commercial electronics systems, including airborne radar systems, navigation systems, electronic warfare systems, precision weapons, airspace management systems, air defense systems, communications systems, space systems, marine systems, oceanic and naval systems, government systems, and logistic services.
AMSC is a world-leading supplier of dynamic reactive power grid stabilization products and the world's principal vendor of high temperature superconductor (HTS) wire and large rotating superconductor machinery. AMSC's power electronic converters and HTS wire are at the core of a broad range of new electricity transmission and distribution, transportation, medical and industrial processing applications, including dynamic reactive power grid stabilization solutions, large ship propulsion motors and generators, smart, controllable, superconductor power cables and advanced defense systems. The company's products are supported by hundreds of patents and licenses covering technologies fundamental to Revolutionizing the Way the World Uses Electricity. For more information, see www.amsuper.com.