American Superconductor Corp /De/ (NASDAQ: AMSC)

American Superconductor Corporation was founded on April 9 1987 and provides megawatt scale power resiliency solutions that orchestrate power flow on the grid and protect and expand naval fleet capability. At AMSC we believe that our creativity can meet today’s challenges and help us progress to a better future by using future facing technologies to harmonize the world’s desire for sustainable progress with the need for more reliable effective and efficient power delivery. The company uses proprietary smart materials and smart software controls to deliver enhanced performance for grid transmission distribution urban infrastructure and marine applications.

The company generates revenue through the sale of power electronics control systems superconductor wire degaussing systems transformers capacitors harmonic filters and related engineering and support services. It also earns income from licensing wind turbine designs and providing field service and spare parts to its installed base of wind turbines. Revenue is driven by the growing need for modernized grids that improve power reliability security and quality the U. S. Navy’s effort to upgrade in board power systems to support fleet electrification and the need for increased renewable sources of electricity such as wind and solar energy. Customers include electric utilities wind turbine manufacturers industrial firms and the U. S. Navy.

The company operates through the following segments: Grid and Wind.

• Grid segment provides megawatt scale power resiliency solutions for transmission distribution and urban grid infrastructure including D VAR systems actiVAR systems armorVAR systems transformers rectifiers REG systems and related planning and engineering services. It serves transmission grid interconnection and voltage control distribution grid power quality urban grid networking marine degaussing and solar grid integration.

• Wind segment supplies electrical control systems licenses wind turbine designs and offers customer support services to manufacturers enabling them to field competitive wind turbines with power ratings of two megawatts and higher. It also provides engineering expertise field service and spare parts to support turbine manufacturers worldwide.

The company holds a strong position in the power grid and wind markets due to its proprietary smart materials and smart software controls that enable high efficiency and low loss power flow. Its turnkey system approach and scalable low cost manufacturing platform give it cost advantages over many competitors. The firm maintains a robust patent portfolio covering superconductor wire fault current limiting technology and rotating machines which supports its differentiated technology claim. Grid patents begin to expire in 2027 with the latest set to expire in 2040. HTS wire patents began to expire in 2024 with the latest set to expire in 2041. HTS application patents begin to expire in 2027 with the latest set to expire in 2040. Wind patents begin to expire in 2025 with the latest set to expire in 2039. Key competitors in the FACTS arena include ABB Hitachi Ingeteam Mitsubishi RXHK and Siemens. In the capacitor and harmonic filter market competitors include Southern States Controllix Powerside Elgin Power Solutions Scott Manufacturing Solutions and QVARx. For DC power supply systems rivals include SCR Controlled Rectifiers IGBT controlled choppers from ABB Siemens Friem Dynapower and Nidec. In the wind turbine component space the company faces limited competition for its power conversion equipment and electrical control systems due to its exclusive supply arrangements with its own turbine designs. The firm believes it is the only provider of HTS based ship protection systems that have been fully qualified for use aboard U. S. Navy surface combatants.

The company serves a diverse customer base that includes electric utilities wind turbine manufacturers industrial firms and naval forces. Specific grid market customers have included Commonwealth Edison Huntington Ingalls Shipbuilding Innomotics LLC the U. S. Navy Capital Power Corp. Targa Resources Corp. Micron Technology Inc. SSE plc Consolidated Power Projects (Pty) Ltd Fuji Bridex and Ergon Energy. In the wind market it has licensed designs to Inox Wind Limited and Doosan Heavy Industries and has supplied electrical control systems to numerous turbine manufacturers worldwide. In fiscal 2024 Inox accounted for 14 percent of total revenues and in fiscal 2023 Inox accounted for 13 percent of total revenues. No other customer represented more than 10 percent of total revenues in either fiscal year. The company has served over 100 customers in the grid market since its inception.