Recent News

News Releases

August 2008 - Hyper Tech Research, Inc., Awarded Grants to Further Technology

August 2008 Grant Awarded - High Field MgB₂ Strands For High Energy Particle Colliders

August 2008 Grant Awarded - Short Period Helical Undulator For The International Linear Collider Positron Source

August 2005 - Hyper Tech Research, Inc., reaches key milestones for the commercialization of MgB₂ wires for MRIs, transformers, and fault current limiters

Conferences

Hyper Tech will exhibit at the following conference(s):

ASC

2008 Applied Superconductivity Conference

Chicago, Illinois

August 17 - 22, 2008

CEC-ICMC

2009 Cryogenic Engineering Conference and International Cryogenic Materials Conference

Tucson, Arizona

June 28 through July 2, 2009

August 2008 - Hyper Tech Research, Inc., Awarded Grants to Further Technology

Columbus, Ohio, August 11, 2008 – Hyper Tech Research, Inc., (Hyper Tech) has been awarded three grants totaling more than $1.3 million for superconductor wire development. These grants, two for the Department of Energy (DOE) and one for Edison Materials Technology Center (EMTEC, a State of Ohio agency), will further the technology needed for next generation magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) systems and superconducting fault current limiters (FCLs).

“We are very excited to receive these grants because they will enable us to dramatically increase the price performance of our existing commercial magnesium diboride (MgB₂) and niobium tin superconducting wire products,” Michael Tomsic, president, Hyper Tech, stated. “We are under great pressure from the MRI community and our customers to continue to improve the performance of our wires for helium free conduction cooled magnets. The MRI community is extremely concerned about the continual rise in the price and imminent shortage of liquid helium in the next few years. Our commercial MgB₂ wire enables liquid helium free conduction cooled magnets, which solves this serious issue for the MRI industry.”

As users are aware, the world is faced with a severe shortage of helium. The price of helium and MRI systems are expected to increase dramatically if no alternative is offered. Currently, all superconducting MRI systems require liquid helium bath cooling. Alternatively, MRI systems can be cooled without the need for immersion in liquid helium as long as higher temperatures can be tolerated. MgB₂ superconductors enable MRI magnets to operate at higher temperatures without liquid helium and these magnets are slated to go into next generation MRI systems.

Hyper Tech is the sole producer of MgB₂ superconductor wire in the U.S and will remain the leader using its patented manufacturing technology. Hyper Tech supplies MgB₂ superconducting wire to the major MRI system producers for next generation MRI magnets and superconducting wires for superconducting FCLs for the power utility and renewable energy (wind, solar, fuel cell, and turbine) markets.

A superconducting FCL is a cross cutting technology needed for the renewable energy markets and the existing United States utility grid. Attaching distributed renewable energy sources to the existing aging electrical grid produces additional fault currents that exceed existing circuit breaker capacity. Many companies worldwide are working to bring a superconducting FCL to the marketplace. Superconducting FCLs using Hyper Tech’s low cost MgB₂ superconductor wire offer the best and quickest solution to reach the market with the needed FCLs.

August 2008 - High Field MgB₂ Strands For High Energy Particle Colliders

Significant progress has been recently made for advancing the properties of MgB₂; however, current wires are characterized by upper critical and irreversibility fields that are too low, and most directly, critical currents that are too low in the 12 T regime. The principal goals of this project are (i) improving B_c2 and irreversibility field, (ii) improving flux pinning and current densities and (iii) improving connectivity for MgB₂ wires. We have planned an integrated materials development program to fabricate MgB2 wires with improved in-field current densities, enhanced critical fields and increased connectivity.

Commercial Applications and Other Benefits

The wire samples developed under this program will have wide ranging benefits. Improving MgB₂ will accelerate the wire being developed for commercial applications such as MRI systems, power utility transformers, generators, motors and military applications. Additionaly, MgB₂ strands with relatively high Tc (thermal margin) and radiation tolerance may find other near-term accelerator applications in the winding of light-source wiggler and undulator magnets.

August 2008 - Short Period Helical Undulator For The International Linear Collider Positron Source

An extensive technological research and development program will be initiated to manufacture and test several undulator prototypes wound with advanced superconducting strand.

Commercial Applications and Other Benefits

Suitably modified versions of the helical undulator in association with electron synchrotrons and linacs (hence free-electron lasers) could provide high energy photons for medical and materials science applications.

August 2005 - Hyper Tech Research, Inc., reaches key milestones for the commercialization of MgB₂ wires for MRIs, transformers, and fault current limiters

Hyper Tech and The Ohio State University (OSU) have achieved the two key milestones identified by MRI manufacturers as necessary to move magnesium diboride (MgB₂) wire out of the laboratory and into prototype MRI magnet demonstrations: manufacturing a 1 km long strand and fabricating a magnet with a 2.0 Tesla bore field at 20 K. In August 2005, Hyper Tech produced a 1-kilometer long, 0.7-millimeter diameter MgB₂ wire that will be delivered to Massachusetts Institute of Technology for use in an 80-centimeter bore MRI magnet intended for a National Institutes of Health MgB₂ MRI sponsored demonstration project.

In another achievement, Hyper Tech produced an MgB₂ coil, tested by OSU that reached magnetic fields relevant to MRI and other applications. This coil demonstration was part of a U.S. Air Force project and used a 300 meter length of MgB₂ wire. The magnet bore size was 3.8 centimeter, and the coil height was 5.3 centimeter. The coil produced 3.4 Tesla at 4 Kelvin, 2.7 Tesla at 15 Kelvin, 2 Tesla at 20 Kelvin, 1.6 Tesla at 25 Kelvin, and 0.7 Tesla at 30 Kelvin.

Mr. Michael Tomsic, President of Hyper Tech stated, "Based on these achievements, Hyper Tech is expanding its manufacturing capacity to supply several MRI manufacturers with MgB₂ wire in 2006 for demonstration projects. By producing a large manufacturing volume for the MRI market, the potential of supplying a low cost MgB₂ wire ($-kAm) can be achieved in the near term. By supplying this wire at a low cost for MRIs, it will open up the potential of having a low cost MgB₂ wire for power utility applications such as transformers and fault current limiters."