Superconductor Technologies Inc. Awarded Patent for Superconducting Material Composition and Manufacturing Process

AUSTIN, Texas, May 7, 2014 (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, was awarded U.S. Patent No. 8,716,187, entitled "RF-Properties-Optimized Compositions of (RE) Ba2Cu3O7-8 Thin Film Superconductors" from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). This patent further enhances the company's intellectual property portfolio that supports the Conductus^® superconducting wire program.

"Our proprietary RCE-CDR fabrication process and material composition of ReBCO provides critical cost, performance and design advantages in the production of Conductus superconducting wire," said Jeff Quiram, STI's President and CEO. "We continue to strengthen our global intellectual property portfolio to protect our growing market position."

U.S. Patent No. 8,716,187 pertains to optimized compositions of Rare Earth barium copper oxide (ReBCO) thin film superconductors using the Reactive Co-Evaporation Cyclic Deposition and Reaction (RCE-CDR) process.

About STI's 2G HTS Wire RCE-CDR Manufacturing

Conductus® unique RCE-CDR deposition offers several key advantages to successfully commercialize superconducting wire for large, emerging markets. Importantly, deposition using RCE-CDR requires fewer manufacturing steps than alternate deposition methods like MOD, MOCVD and PLD. Fewer steps reduces total processing time and increases the likelihood of higher yield.  Conductus® highly controlled RCE-CDR deposition process grows crystalline structures from very low cost raw materials in their bulk, solid state.  Other YBCO growth approaches are not as controlled and usually require the use of costly chemical mixtures to deposit superconducting materials. The competing processes require more buffer layers for proper crystal growth which increases complexity and runtimes and reduces yield. Conductus® 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, Conductus® manufacturing process will be designed for high throughput and a large superconducting 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 Austin, TX, 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.

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 and our HTS wire; 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, 2013 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.