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New
Release -- Superconductor Week does not edit or endorse the following
news release: Condumex
to Build High Temperature Superconductor (HTS) Cable System with HTS Wire from
American Superconductor
June 1 -- American Superconductor Corporation (Nasdaq: AMSC), a
leading electricity solutions company, announced today that it has received an
order for its first generation (1G) high temperature superconductor (HTS) wire
from Condumex, the largest wire and cable manufacturer in Mexico. The HTS wire
will be utilized by Condumex to manufacture and install an HTS power cable
system in a Mexico City, Mexico electrical substation. The project will
demonstrate the ability of HTS cable to move increased amounts of power under
the streets of Mexico City, helping to break grid bottlenecks and provide
customers with more reliable and secure electric power. One-third of the project
is to be funded by the government of Mexico.
The alternating current (AC) power distribution cable system will be able to
transmit 47-megawatts (MW) of power. HTS cables are able to conduct much greater
amounts of power because the HTS wires supplied by AMSC are able to carry more
than 140 times the electrical current of copper wires of the same dimensions.
Because of this substantial increase in current carrying capacity of the wires,
HTS cables utilize far fewer strands of wire than cables made with copper.
"Condumex believes that HTS wire will revolutionize the energy cable business
the same way optical fiber has revolutionized the telecommunication cable
business," said a Condumex spokesperson. "Our company also believes that high
capacity HTS cables will provide Condumex's customers with a significant new way
to break power grid bottlenecks by permitting substantial increases in power
flow through existing rights of way in congested urban areas."
The Condumex HTS cable system will comprise three 33-meter (109 feet) long, warm
dielectric cables and will utilize about 10 kilometers (about 6 miles) of HTS
wire. The cable system will operate at 15 kilovolts and will carry 1,800 Amperes
of electrical current in each of the three cables in the system. The three
cables will handle the power flow of nine similar-sized copper cables --
providing a very effective and economical means to eliminate power bottlenecks.
Condumex expects the cable system to be installed and operating in a Mexico City
substation next year.
"Condumex is the market leader in Mexico for power distribution cables and we
are honored they selected AMSC's wire for this important project," said Angelo
Santamaria, vice president and general manager of AMSC's wire business. "With
this project, Condumex joins a growing number of leading cable companies
worldwide who are building and demonstrating HTS power cables today to ensure
their participation in what is expected to be a substantial and fast growing
market for HTS power cables by the end of this decade."
On track for commercial introduction in the next few years, HTS cables will
offer several advantages, including very high power capacity and a very small
footprint, making them much easier to site even in dense, older urban areas; and
controllability, allowing larger amounts of power to be pumped economically and
reliably into congested areas and transferred precisely where it is needed to
relieve congestion. For more information on HTS cables, see http://www.amsuper.com/products/htsWire/HTSCables.cfm. |
