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news release:
American Superconductor
Receives $13.3 Million Contract Amendment from U.S. Navy's Office of Naval
Research
Westborough, MA, Apr. 27: American
Superconductor Corporation (NASDAQ:
AMSC), a leading energy technologies company, announced today that it has
finalized an additional contract amendment with the United States Navy's Office
of Naval Research (ONR). Under the terms of the amendment, the ONR has approved
a $13.3 million increase to AMSC's contract for the design, manufacture and
shipment of a factory-tested 36.5-megawatt (MW) (49,000 horsepower) high
temperature superconductor (HTS) propulsion motor for electric warships. The
amendment adds $13.3 million to AMSC's backlog, all of which is expected to be
recognized as revenue by the end of calendar 2006. AMSC expects to deliver the
36.5-MW motor to the Navy test facility in Philadelphia in September 2006. The
company also stated that the contract for the motor has now been converted from
a cost-plus-fee contract to a firm-fixed-price contract.
As prime contractor, AMSC leads the design,
manufacture and initial testing of the prototype 36.5-MW HTS electric ship
propulsion motor. The motor, which is sized for the Navy's future DD(X) ships,
benefits from the successes achieved by AMSC in a recently completed ONR 5-MW
HTS motor development and test program. AMSC and Northrop Grumman have
successfully completed the first two phases of the three-phase development
process for the 36.5-MW motor, including successful preliminary design and
detailed design reviews.
HTS motors are ultra-compact, measuring as little
as one-third the weight and one-half the size of copper-based motors of the same
power and torque rating. This means Navy ships could carry more fuel and
munitions, and have more room for crew's quarters and weapons systems.
Commercial ship owners and operators, meanwhile, could carry more passengers and
cargo. In addition, HTS motors operate with higher fuel efficiency and are
expected to have lower maintenance costs than their conventional copper
counterparts. The substantial advantages offered by HTS ship propulsion motors
are expected to be provided at a production cost that is equivalent to
conventional motors of the same power and torque rating.
Key AMSC team members include Northrop Grumman
Marine Systems and Northrop Grumman Ship Systems. Northrop Grumman Marine
Systems is responsible for the development of system requirements and
specifications, design and manufacture of the motor drive and certain mechanical
components and system integration and test. Northrop Grumman Ship Systems, a
prime contractor for Naval shipbuilding programs, is developing a family of
electric surface warships, assists in overall ship system integration and is
providing ancillary hardware. For more information, please visit:
http://www.irconnect.com/noc/pages/news_releases.mhtml?d=26820.
The team assembled by AMSC also includes Electric
Machinery Company, BMT Syntek Technologies, Inc., and the Center for Advanced
Power Systems at Florida State University.
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