Superconductor Technologies Inc. Completes Testing of Conductus(R) 2G HTS Wire with General Cable Superconductor Ltd. for HTS Roebel Cable Applications

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SANTA BARBARA, Calif., Jan. 17, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Superconductor Technologies Inc. SCON ("STI"), a world leader in the development and production of high temperature superconducting (HTS) materials and associated technologies, announced that General Cable Superconductors Ltd. (GCS) has completed testing of STI's second generation (2G) HTS wire. General Cable Superconductors, a HTS continuously transposed (Roebel) cable provider in New Zealand, is a world leader in HTS cable technology utilizing advanced designs with multiple successful projects presently in operation. GCS tested the wire and confirmed that it met their critical current power objective.

Jeff Quiram, STI's president and chief executive officer, said, "General Cable Superconductors' validation again shows that our Conductus® 2G HTS wire development is progressing to meet the demand of innovative power applications like Roebel cable, which offers very high current carrying capacity for future superconducting applications like motors, generators and transformers. GCS technology provides a promising path to open new market opportunities for 2G HTS wire." 

GCS Chief Executive Andrew Priest stated: "STI's HTS wire could be a future route to deliver low cost, high performance HTS wire required for commercialization of value added products such as Roebel cable. GCS is building critical mass, in terms of expertise, revenue and market development for HTS Roebel cable as an industrial technology. Our unique manufacturing process cuts and cables 2G HTS wire to long lengths and flexible current rating from 200A to 2kA."

Superconducting motors, generators, transformers and other rotating machines are expected to generate the large future demand for HTS wire. Coils utilizing HTS wire will enable a range of devices to operate at much higher power densities. When compared to a copper wire based electric machine with equivalent output power, future superconducting motors and generators will enable significant size and weight reductions for the motors with higher efficiency.

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.

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

About General Cable Superconductors Ltd.

New Zealand-based General Cable Superconductors manufactures and markets Roebel cable – a continuously transposed HTS conductor for use in large power devices. The company was formed in 2007 by Industrial Research Ltd (IRL) and General Cable New Zealand (GCNZ) IRL's nineteen years of research into HTS has produced an effective and cost-efficient method of manufacturing Roebel cable. This, coupled with GCNZ's background in large-scale power cables, has allowed the commercial production of Roebel cable for use in high current rated devices and those that require minimization of AC losses. Recent projects have focused on the application of Roebel cable in magnets, generators and transformers. In finding a process whereby HTS wire can be formed into a cable, GCS has opened the way for a much broader uptake of HTS technology, with the potential to carry high electrical currents with lower losses of energy.

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; 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.

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.

Andrew Priest, General Cable Superconductors, andrew.priest@xtra.co.nz +64-21-272-0019

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