- Published: 21 April 2015
- Written by Editor
AMSC Announces U.S. Navy's Intention to Order High Temperature Superconductor (HTS) Equipment
DEVENS, Mass., April 20, 2015 -- AMSC (AMSC), a global solutions provider serving the wind and power grid industry, today announced that the U.S. Navy created a sole source solicitation notice for AMSC's high temperature superconductor (HTS) equipment. The contract is expected after April 28, 2015. Additionally, AMSC has established a relationship with the Navy to develop HTS power cable hardware for ship board power applications.
For the past several years, AMSC and the Navy have collaborated on AMSC's advanced HTS degaussing system. The core components of the degaussing system are transferable to other applications being targeted for ship implementation. AMSC is continuing its work to expand HTS technology into the fleet through a variety of applications for power, propulsion, and protection equipment. AMSC refers to its HTS-based products for the Navy as "Ship Protection Systems."
AMSC's Ship Protection Systems, such as degaussing systems, reduce the magnetic signature of a ship, which can interfere with undersea mines' ability to detect and damage the ship. AMSC has worked with the U.S. Navy to develop and qualify a lighter weight, more power efficient HTS version of this degaussing system. HTS is an enabling technology for advanced degaussing systems on platforms with weight and power limitations. These systems require significantly less power to operate and can reduce the overall degaussing system weight by 50-70%.
AMSC has been working jointly with the Navy Metal Working Center of Excellence to optimize manufacturing costs associated with HTS degaussing cables. During the course of this Manufacturing Technology (ManTech) program, the cable making process has been streamlined and is expected to meet the delivery and cost targets associated with full ship production. The manufacturing infrastructure developed under the ManTech program has been transitioned to AMSC's Devens facility.
"AMSC has worked extensively with the U.S. Navy to develop prototypes of the HTS advanced degaussing systems on surface platforms. AMSC's HTS systems have now traveled close to 75,000 miles and compiled over 20,000 hours of run time on U.S. Navy vessels," said Daniel P. McGahn, President and CEO, AMSC. "Combined with the manufacturing advances gained through the ManTech program, we believe AMSC is capable of delivering HTS systems to the U.S. Navy."
The success of an HTS degaussing program has potential for other applications such as ship board power transmission using similar equipment. AMSC has recently received a contract from the U.S. Navy Office of Naval Research to develop power cable hardware in direct support of that effort.
AMSC generates the ideas, technologies and solutions that meet the world's demand for smarter, cleaner ... better energy. Through its Windtec(TM) Solutions, AMSC provides wind turbine electronic controls and systems, designs and engineering services that reduce the cost of wind energy. Through its Gridtec(TM) Solutions, AMSC provides the engineering planning services and advanced grid systems that optimize network reliability, efficiency and performance. The company's solutions are now powering gigawatts of renewable energy globally and enhancing the performance and reliability of power networks in more than a dozen countries. Founded in 1987, AMSC is headquartered near Boston, Massachusetts with operations in Asia, Australia, Europe and North America. For more information, please visit www.amsc.com.
AMSC, Windtec, Gridtec, and Smarter, and Cleaner ... Better Energy, are trademarks or registered trademarks of American Superconductor Corporation. All other brand names, product names, trademarks or service marks belong to their respective holders.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"). Any statements in this release about expectations regarding the entry by AMSC and U.S. Navy into a contract for AMSC to provide High Temperature Superconductor (HTS) Degaussing equipment to the U.S. Navy, the cable making process meeting the delivery and cost targets associated with full ship production, the potential of a successful HTS degaussing program for other applications, and other 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. Such forward-looking statements represent management's current expectations and are inherently uncertain. There are a number of important factors that could materially impact the value of our common stock or cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include: We have a history of operating losses, which may continue in the future. Our operating results may fluctuate significantly from quarter to quarter and may fall below expectations in any particular fiscal quarter; we have a history of negative operating cash flows, and we may require additional financing in the future, which may not be available to us; Our Term Loans include certain covenants and other events of default. Should we not comply with these covenants or incur an event of default, we may be required to repay our obligation in cash, which could have an adverse effect on our liquidity; We may be required to issue performance bonds or provide letters of credit, which restricts our ability to access any cash used as collateral for the bonds or letters of credit; Changes in exchange rates could adversely affect our results from operations; If we fail to maintain proper and effective internal controls over financial reporting, our ability to produce accurate and timely financial statements could be impaired and may lead investors and other users to lose confidence in our financial data; Our success in addressing the wind energy market is dependent on the manufacturers that license our designs; Our success is dependent upon attracting and retaining qualified personnel and our inability to do so could significantly damage our business and prospects; We may not realize all of the sales expected from our backlog of orders and contracts; Our financial condition may have an adverse effect on our customer and supplier relationships; Failure to successfully execute the consolidation of our Grid manufacturing operations or achieve expected savings could adversely impact our financial performance; Our business and operations would be adversely impacted in the event of a failure or security breach of our information technology infrastructure; We may not be able to launch operations at our newly leased manufacturing facility in Romania, and, if we are able to do so, we may have manufacturing quality issues, which would negatively affect our revenues and financial position; We rely upon third-party suppliers for the components and subassemblies of many of our Wind and Grid products, making us vulnerable to supply shortages and price fluctuations, which could harm our business; Many of our revenue opportunities are dependent upon subcontractors and other business collaborators; If we fail to implement our business strategy successfully, our financial performance could be harmed; Problems with product quality or product performance may cause us to incur warranty expenses and may damage our market reputation and prevent us from achieving increased sales and market share; New regulations related to conflict-free minerals may force us to incur significant additional expenses; Our contracts with the U.S. government are subject to audit, modification or termination by the U.S. government and include certain other provisions in favor of the government. The continued funding of such contracts remains subject to annual congressional appropriation which, if not approved, could reduce our revenue and lower or eliminate our profit; Many of our customers outside of the United States are, either directly or indirectly, related to governmental entities, and we could be adversely affected by violations of the United States Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and similar worldwide anti-bribery laws outside the United States; We have limited experience in marketing and selling our superconductor products and system-level solutions, and our failure to effectively market and sell our products and solutions could lower our revenue and cash flow; We may acquire additional complementary businesses or technologies, which may require us to incur substantial costs for which we may never realize the anticipated benefits; Our success depends upon the commercial use of high temperature superconductor (HTS) products, which is currently limited, and a widespread commercial market for our products may not develop; Growth of the wind energy market depends largely on the availability and size of government subsidies and economic incentives; We have operations in and depend on sales in emerging markets, including China and India, and global conditions could negatively affect our operating results or limit our ability to expand our operations outside of these countries. Changes in China's or India's political, social, regulatory and economic environment may affect our financial performance; Our products face intense competition, which could limit our ability to acquire or retain customers; Our international operations are subject to risks that we do not face in the United States, which could have an adverse effect on our operating results; Adverse changes in domestic and global economic conditions could adversely affect our operating results; We may be unable to adequately prevent disclosure of trade secrets and other proprietary information; Our patents may not provide meaningful protection for our technology, which could result in us losing some or all of our market position; There are a number of technological challenges that must be successfully addressed before our superconductor products can gain widespread commercial acceptance, and our inability to address such technological challenges could adversely affect our ability to acquire customers for our products; We have not manufactured our Amperium wire in commercial quantities, and a failure to manufacture our Amperium wire in commercial quantities at acceptable cost and quality levels would substantially limit our future revenue and profit potential; Third parties have or may acquire patents that cover the materials, processes and technologies we use or may use in the future to manufacture our Amperium products, and our success depends on our ability to license such patents or other proprietary rights; Our technology and products could infringe intellectual property rights of others, which may require costly litigation and, if we are not successful, could cause us to pay substantial damages and disrupt our business; We have filed a demand for arbitration and other lawsuits against our former largest customer, Sinovel, regarding amounts we contend are overdue. We cannot be certain as to the outcome of these proceedings; We have been named as a party in various legal proceedings, and we may be named in additional litigation, all of which will require significant management time and attention, result in significant legal expenses and may result in an unfavorable outcome, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results and financial condition; Our common stock has experienced, and may continue to experience, significant market price and volume fluctuations, which may prevent our stockholders from selling our common stock at a profit and could lead to costly litigation against us that could divert our management's attention.
These and the important factors discussed under the caption "Risk Factors" in Part 1. Item 1A of our Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2014, and our other reports filed with the SEC, among others, could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by forward-looking statements made herein and presented elsewhere by management from time to time. Any such forward-looking statements represent management's estimates as of the date of this press release. While we may elect to update such forward-looking statements at some point in the future, we disclaim any obligation to do so, even if subsequent events cause our views to change. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing our views as of any date subsequent to the date of this press release.
AMSC Kerry Farrell Phone: 978-842-3247 Email: kerry.farrell @ amsc.com
