American Superconductor's Yurek Presents at the 10TH Annual International Superconductivity Industry Summit; Sees convergence of HTS commercialization and transmission grid needs.

 WESTBOROUGH, Mass. -- American Superconductor Corporation , a leading global supplier of superconductor products and power electronic converters for the electric power industry, announced that its chief executive officer, Dr. Greg Yurek, presented an update on high temperature superconductor (HTS) wires and applications at the 10th annual meeting of the International Superconductivity Industry Summit (ISIS-10) in Santa Fe, New Mexico, March 14-16, 2002. His presentation, which can be viewed at http://www.amsuper.com/isis.htm , focused on the convergence of demand for new transmission grid solutions, changes in regulatory policy and the emergence of new products based on superconductors.
Dr. Yurek's presentation was made during a panel discussion led by Dr. James Daley, Program Manager Superconductivity, US Department of Energy on "From Developer to User: Electric Power Applications for Superconductors." Other participants on the panel were from Sumitomo Electric Industries, Nordic Superconductor Technologies, Siemens AG, and the Science University of Tokyo.
During his presentation, Dr. Yurek noted that the cost of HTS multi-filamentary composite wires had decreased significantly in recent years and that AMSC was on track to achieve a price/performance ratio for its wire of $50/kA-m over the next few years, down from its current price/performance ratio of $200/kA-m. "We have already demonstrated high electrical performance and superb mechanical performance in our production wires," said Yurek. "Our new HTS wire manufacturing plant gives us the tool to take out more cost and puts us on track to meet our price/performance goal."
Over 50 participants from the US, Japan and Europe attended the summit, which was hosted by the Council on Superconductivity for American Competitiveness (CSAC). The next ISIS meeting will be held in Tokyo in November 2002 and will be hosted by the International Superconductivity Technology Center (ISTEC) of Japan.
The first ISIS meeting was held in May 1992, in Washington, D.C. Since then, international leaders interested in promoting the commercialization of superconductivity have gathered once a year, meeting alternately in the US, Japan and Europe. The summits have been effective in providing a forum to discuss the commercialization of HTS technology.
AMSC HTS Wire Price/Performance
The price/performance ratio, stated as $/kiloAmpere-meter, or $/kA-m, is the price of one meter of wire divided by the amount of electrical current, measured in kiloAmperes, conducted by that wire. The average electrical current conducted by wires manufactured by AMSC today is about 125 Amperes, or 0.125 kiloAmperes. The same size copper wire carries 0.9 Amperes, or 0.0009 kiloAmperes. HTS wire manufactured by AMSC can conduct well over 100 times the electrical current of a copper wire with the same dimensions -- a feature that translates into much more compact and power dense electrical equipment, such as motors, generators and power cables.
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/.
Certain statements in this release, 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 the uncertainties that: the company will be able to obtain the anticipated funding from corporate and government contracts; the company will be able to successfully develop and manufacture commercial products; a robust market will develop for the company's products; and the company will secure anticipated orders. Additionally such factors include: 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 periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In addition, the forward-looking statements included in this press release represent the Company's estimates as of March 19, 2002. While the Company anticipates that subsequent events and developments may cause the Company's estimates 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 estimates or views as of any date subsequent to March 19, 2002.