An agreement has been signed between Inco Alloys International (IAI), a division of nickel giant Inco (TSE), and American Superconductor Corp. (ASC) of Massachusetts related to joint development of IAI’s metal alloys as a base material in the manufacture of flexible ceramic superconductor wires. The agreement will see IAI materials (known technically as metallic precursors) converted into ceramics using ASC’s process. Under the right conditions, these ceramics become superconductors, the term used for materials that conduct electricity with no resistance.
The ASC process turns out ceramics that are highly flexible (in contrast to their normally brittle form). The durability of superconducting wires created in the process means the wires can be incorporated in numerous applications, such as electric motors or magnetic coils.
Among the few details of the agreement to be disclosed were that Inco and IAI are funding the development work and that Inco has made an equity investment in ASC.
IAI, based in West Virginia, is the world’s largest producer and developer of high nickel alloys.
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