SuperPower is a manufacturer and provider of 2G HTS wire with more than 130 customers in the U.S., Europe and other parts of the world. Currently, SuperPower and American Superconductor are the only two companies in the world that have the capability to mass produce and provide 2G HTS wire for their customers.
Since the start of sales of niobium titanium wire and other metallic superconducting wires in the 1960s, Furukawa Electric has been providing metal superconducting wire for the medical sector (e.g., MRI), the industrial sector (e.g., single crystal pull-up apparatus), scientific research (e.g., accelerator) and the energy sector (e.g., nuclear fusion). Furukawa Electric has also been working on research and development of HTS devices, such as superconductor electric cable and fault current limiter, which are critical devices for smart grid and renewable energy equipment.
Through provision of superconductor electric cable and wire for large wind turbine generators as well as expansion of the device business, Furukawa Electric aims to generate sales of US$ 100 million by 2016. In the field of superconducting wire, Furukawa Electric and SuperPower will be the only manufacturer in the world which can provide both HTS and metal superconducting wire on a broad commercial basis at this time.
Currently Superpower Inc has about $5 million per year in sales and Furukawa has over 10 billion dollars in sales. They plan to increase sales of superconductors by 20 times to 100 million by 2016.
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