STI Achieves 30% Improvement in Conductus Wire Performance


- To present test data at the 27th International Symposium on Superconductivity November 25th to 27th -

AUSTIN, Texas, Nov. 18, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Superconductor Technologies Inc. (STI) (Nasdaq:SCON), a world leader in the development and production of high temperature superconducting (HTS) materials and associated technologies, will participate in the 27th International Symposium on Superconductivity (ISS) being held November 25th to 27th in Tokyo.

During the poster session, STI will present the results of tests performed by customers on its Conductus® wire across a wide range of operating temperatures and magnetic fields. The data will illustrate critical current of 730 Amps/cm at 77K in self-field and show improved low-temperature characteristics in higher magnetic fields. In addition, the testing shows excellent uniformity across both the width and length of the wire. Through continued process improvement, STI has increased Conductus wire performance significantly throughout 2014. The wire tested was produced on STI's pilot Reactive Co-evaporation (RCE) machine. These process methods will be transferred to the full production machine that became operational this month.

"ISS is an ideal conference to meet with new and existing customers and expand business relationships with industry leading companies, and is an excellent forum to present these customer performed test results that demonstrate very significant improvement in Conductus wire performance," said Adam Shelton, STI's VP of Marketing and Product Line Management. "Conductus wire continues to demonstrate the capability to meet the demanding needs of a diverse set of applications that include superconducting fault current limiters and superconducting power cables, which have the potential to lengthen the service life of equipment and lower system losses for power utilities. At ISS, we will join with corporate executives, scientists, engineers and academic researchers from around the world to advance the development of these and other disruptive technologies that use superconducting materials for a range of emerging applications, including low-loss power systems, MRIs, coil technologies for generating high magnetic fields, maglev train technology and more. For broad commercialization to occur, the market demands improved availability, performance and economics of high temperature superconducting wire. With the installation of our new one kilometer wire production machine completed, STI is well-positioned to address this demand as we ramp capacity in 2014 and beyond."

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 ability to incorporate and fully assemble new equipment effectively and on time into our production processes; our ability to calibrate and use new equipment to produce wire in accordance with our timetable; our limited cash and a history of losses; the possibility of delays in customer evaluation and acceptance of our HTS wire; 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; the impact of competitive products, technologies and pricing; manufacturing capacity constraints and difficulties; our ability to raise sufficient capital to fund our operations (whether through registered direct offerings or otherwise), 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, which may decline in connection with the sales under registered direct offerings or otherwise; the dilutive impact of any issuances of securities to raise capital; and local, regional, and national and international economic conditions and events and the impact they may have on us and our customers.

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.

Investor Relations Contact
Cathy Mattison or Kirsten Chapman
LHA    +1-415-433-3777    invest@suptech.com