Friday, June 6, 2008

American Superconductor licenses wind turbine tech to Taiwan firm

By Mass High Tech Staff

American Superconductor Corp. reports it has licensed one of its proprietary wind turbine designs to Taiwan-based TECO Electric & Machinery Co. Ltd. (TECO). The license, which was executed through AMSC’s wholly-owned Windtec subsidiary, includes the design for its FC-2000, a proprietary 2 megawatt wind turbine intended for use in high wind speeds.

Under terms of the agreement, AMSC (Nasdaq: AMSC) will receive a multi-million-dollar up-front license fee, as well as royalty payments for wind turbines produced by TECO in Taiwan and sold in China and Taiwan. AMSC also has a right of first refusal to provide the full electrical systems and core electrical components for all of the wind turbines manufactured by TECO.

TECO plans to begin manufacturing the 2 megawatt wind turbines in 2009, according to AMSC officials.

TECO, the parent company of Round Rock, Texas-based TECO-Westinghouse Motor Co., is the world’s third largest motor manufacturer, officials said.

In its last reported year, ending in March 2007, American Superconductor reported a loss of $35 million on revenue of $52 million.

In its last three reported quarters (June 2007 through December 2007) the company saw its revenue increase from $19.8 million to $32.6 million and its losses narrow from $9.7 million to $7.3 million.