STI Participates in Showcasing Superconducting Fault

AUSTIN, Texas, Aug. 25, 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, joined with Nexans, LS Cable and RWE Deutschland AG to showcase the value proposition of superconducting fault current limiters (SFCLs) and high power superconducting cables (HPSCs) at STI's CIGRE booth 114.

"At CIGRE 2014, we are delighted to be working with industry leaders who have successfully deployed superconductivity in the grid," said Adam Shelton, STI's VP of Marketing and Product Line Management. "Our joint goal is to share the value proposition of SFCLs and HPSCs with electric infrastructure companies and others in the electricity transmission and distribution industry. By leveraging our collective expertise to assist decision makers with critical network planning, we expect to broaden the market reach of next generation solutions.

"Superconducting applications help to optimize existing power systems and improve the stability and reliability of the grid. Superconducting wire is a key component of the overall solution. In conjunction with our plan to begin producing our Conductus ^® wire in commercial volumes later this year, we are working closely with our SFCL and HPSC customers to optimize performance and improve capacity to meet industry demands."

High Power Superconducting Cable (HPSC)

HPSC is capable of transmitting 5 to 10 times the electrical current of traditional copper or aluminum cables with improved efficiency. This enables medium voltage feeds to load pockets in dense urban areas that are often saturated with aging infrastructure and where the construction of distribution substations is not feasible or economical. Key benefits of HPSCs include the following:

• Unmatched power transmission capacity – Increased Amps not Volts
• No thermal impact on environment, enabling more power to be transferred in a limited underground space
• No outer magnetic field, enabling data and phone lines to be run along with the power cables
• Reduced substation footprint requirement
• Reduction in transmission loss
• Reduced civil work cost
• Possible elimination of transformers

Superconducting Fault Current Limiters (SFCL)

With power demand on the rise and new power generation sources being added, the grid has become overcrowded and vulnerable to catastrophic faults. Faults are abnormal flows of electrical current that act as a large scale short circuit. SFCLs act like powerful surge protectors, preventing harmful faults from taking down substation equipment by reducing the fault current to a safer level (20% – 50% reduction) so that the existing switchgear can still protect the grid. Superior fault protection increases equipment reliability and survivability, while providing enhanced power recovery time for Smart Grid systems. Key benefits of SFCLs include the following:

• Protects transformers and switch gear from damaging fault currents that cause significant blackouts
• Enhances system safety, stability and efficiency
• Allows direct connect at medium voltage to renewable energy sources
• Provides for substation interconnect with Busbar Coupling, thereby improving the utilization of existing assets
• Reliable current limitation within the first half cycle
• Reduces mechanical and thermal stresses in the grid

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: the ability of our suppliers, who we do not control, to produce and deliver equipment on a timely basis; 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 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 (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, 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.