Photo Release -- Superconductor Technologies Inc. Introduces Conductus(R) Superconducting Wire Product Family

Launches Brand Name for Its World-Class Superconducting Wire


SANTA BARBARA, Calif., Nov. 11, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Superconductor Technologies Inc. (Nasdaq:SCON) ("STI"), a world leader in the development and production of high temperature superconducting (HTS) materials and associated technologies, today introduced Conductus® Superconducting Wire, the brand name for the company's new superconducting wire product family. The Conductus brand conveys the dual nature of this electric wire and envisions both its function and its qualities for delivering clean and efficient power to communities around the world.

A photo accompanying this release is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=11043

Superconducting wire is an enabling technology for modernizing power distribution, transmission and generation. Specifically, the more recent development of second generation (2G) HTS wire offers dramatic performance improvements, higher power density, smaller size and a significant cost benefit over traditional alternatives like copper wire. HTS power applications are expected to improve grid reliability and efficiency at a competitive cost, which has created significant market opportunity in particular with Smart Grid infrastructure applications. 

"Interest in STI's Conductus Superconducting Wire has grown steadily," said Adam Shelton, vice president, marketing and product management for STI. "We believe STI's proprietary technology and manufacturing expertise will enable broader market commercialization by addressing three industry requirements: supply/availability, price and performance." 

About STI's Conductus Superconducting Wire – see http://www.conductus.com

The name Conductus has significant importance in STI company history, as much of the technology STI uses today originated at Conductus, a Sunnyvale, Calif.-based company acquired by STI in 2002.

2G HTS wire is defined as a high current carrying conductor manufactured by growing a thin crystalline film of rare-earth-barium-copper-oxide (RE-BCO) which acts as a superconductor. The RE-BCO HTS materials are grown on a metal alloy substrate and encapsulated by a metal stabilization layer on all sides.

When compared to equivalent copper based wire products, electrical systems using 2G HTS wire can take advantage of the higher power density and improved efficiency to achieve superior performance with minimal power loss. Initial target market applications for STI's Conductus 2G HTS wire applications include: high power transmission and distribution cables, superconducting fault current limiters, large industrial motors and generators and offshore wind turbine generators.

STI's 2G HTS wire manufacturing approach utilizes a simplified, layered wire architecture, designed to deliver high performance wire at a cost competitive with copper. STI's 2G HTS wire architecture consists of three key manufacturing processes. First, a commercial-grade stainless steel template is passed through a solution deposition planarization (SDP) process. SDP is a non-vacuum, self-planarizing, inexpensive process, which provides a smooth starting surface while eliminating the need to polish the template, reducing both cost and chemical waste. Next, the template proceeds through an Ion Beam Assisted Deposition (IBAD) process in order to produce a template with the right surface conditions to enable the effective deposition of superconducting material. Both the SDP and IBAD layers provide an ideal surface condition to take advantage of STI's proprietary HTS materials deposition process. Then, the HTS materials are deposited onto the template using STI's proprietary Reactive Co-evaporation Cyclic Deposition and Reaction (RCE-CDR) High Temperature Superconducting (HTS) deposition.

STI's unique RCE-CDR HTS deposition provides the company with key advantages to successfully commercialize HTS wire for large, emerging markets. HTS deposition using RCE-CDR requires fewer manufacturing steps than alternate deposition methods. Fewer process steps reduce the total processing time and increase the likelihood of higher yield. STI's highly controlled RCE-CDR deposition process grows crystalline structures from very low cost raw materials in their bulk, solid state. STI's growth process is simple, repeatable and commercially proven. In addition to the lower direct cost of raw materials and the use of inexpensive substrate material, STI's manufacturing process is designed for high throughput and a large HTS growth area. Fewer process steps allows for less production equipment per km of wire, which in turn translates into lower cap-ex, less electricity use and a smaller production footprint.

About Superconductor Technologies Inc. (STI)

Superconductor Technologies Inc., headquartered in Santa Barbara, CA, has been a world leader in HTS materials since 1987, developing more than 100 patents as well as proprietary trade secrets and manufacturing expertise. For more than a decade, STI has been providing innovative interference elimination and network enhancement solutions to the commercial wireless industry. The company is currently leveraging its key enabling technologies, including RF filtering, HTS materials and cryogenics to develop energy efficient, cost-effective and high performance second generation (2G) HTS wire for existing and emerging power applications, to develop applications for advanced RF wireless solutions and innovative adaptive filtering, and for government R&D.  Superconductor Technologies Inc.'s common stock is listed on the NASDAQ Capital Market under the ticker symbol "SCON." For more information about STI, please visit http://www.suptech.com/">http://www.suptech.com.

The Superconductor Technologies Inc. logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=3963

Safe Harbor Statement 

Statements in this press release regarding our business that are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" that involve risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are inherently subject to uncertainties and other factors, which could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements. These factors and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: our limited cash and a history of losses; the limited number of potential customers; the limited number of suppliers for some of our components; there being no significant backlog from quarter to quarter; our market being characterized by rapidly advancing technology; overcoming technical challenges in attaining milestones to develop and manufacture commercial lengths of our HTS wire; customer acceptance of our HTS wire; fluctuations in product demand from quarter to quarter; the impact of competitive filter products, technologies and pricing; manufacturing capacity constraints and difficulties; our ability to raise sufficient capital to fund our operations, and the impact on our strategic wire initiative of any inability to raise such funds; the impact of any such financing activity on the level of our stock price; and local, regional, and national and international economic conditions and events and the impact they may have on us and our customers, such as the current worldwide recession.

Forward-looking statements can be affected by many other factors, including, those described in the "Business" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" sections of STI's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010 and in STI's other public filings. These documents are available online at STI's website, www.suptech.com, or through the SEC's website, www.sec.gov. Forward-looking statements are based on information presently available to senior management, and STI has not assumed any duty to update any forward-looking statements.

The photo is also available at Newscom, www.newscom.com, and via AP PhotoExpress.

Contact

For further information please contact Investor Relations, invest@suptech.com, Cathy Mattison or Kirsten Chapman of LHA, +1-415-433-3777, for Superconductor Technologies Inc.

STI's Conductus Superconducting Wire