HTS Wire

American Superconductor (AMSC) is the world’s leading developer and manufacturer of high temperature superconductor (HTS) wire. The company has long been the industry leader in both price and performance and continues to provide the product of choice for a variety of applications including power cables, motors, generators and specialty magnets.

Electric power equipment Powered by AMSC™ conserves resources - operating more efficiently, carrying greater amounts of power safetly and reliably and improving the quality of energy delivery to customers.

AMSC currently has inventory of first generation (1G) HTS wire available for purchase and is scaling manufacturing capacity for its second generation (2G) HTS wire called 344 superconductors. The company believes manufacturing costs for this next-generation wire will be up to five times lower than 1G, making it an attractive drop in replacement for customers who have developed applications with first generation wire.

The HTS wires AMSC manufactures today conduct over 150 times the electrical current of copper wire of the same dimensions, which dramatically reduces the size and weight of electrical equipment and significantly increases the power throughput of power cables. These characteristics offer product developers the ability to design components with HTS wire -- such as coils for industrial and naval motors or generators -- that deliver much higher power density and can offer additional benefits such as reduced manufacturing and maintenance costs. 

AMSC’s wire is manufactured in the world’s first commercial volume HTS manufacturing plant located in Devens, Massachusetts.

By optimizing the electrical and mechanical properties of HTS wire, AMSC is able to customize its wire products to suit a broad range of HTS applications. 

AMSC expects to continue to increase the electrical performance of its 2G wire to levels that exceed the performance of it first generation HTS wire. AMSC also expects to scale up the 4-cm technology to 1,000 meter lengths within the next two years. The company then plans is to migrate to 10-cm technology to further reduce manufacturing costs.

There are companies who fabricate coils and other components from HTS wires, and who supply refrigeration. There are a variety of component suppliers that can provide HTS and refrigeration components. They can provide a fast, economical channel for OEMs to accelerate their entry into the HTS equipment market. Companies developing HTS products for the first time must complete a series of steps including HTS coil development, sub-scale product development, prototype development and production of a commercial product.