Recent News

News Releases

June 2009 - Hyper Tech Research, Inc., to Receive $5 Million from State of Ohio Program

August 2008 - Hyper Tech Research, Inc., Receives Two DOE Grants

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):

EUCAS

8^th European Conference on Applied Superconductivity

Dresden, Germany

September 13 - 17, 2009

MT21

20^th International Conference on Magnet Technology

Hefei, China

October 18-23, 2009

June 2009 - Hyper Tech Research, Inc., to Receive $5 Million from State of Ohio Program

Columbus, Ohio, June 29, 2009 - Hyper Tech Research, Inc. (Hyper Tech) has been selected for $5 million in funding from the State of Ohio Third Frontier Research & Commercialization Program. The industrial cost share for this project is more than $5 million bringing total for the entire project to more than $10 million. This grant builds on Hyper Tech's platform technology of high-field and high-temperature superconductor wire technology. Hyper Tech will use magnesium diboride (MgB₂) superconducting wire to enable MRI producers to demonstrate next-generation full-body MRI systems, which will operate at higher temperatures and will not require the use of liquid helium bath cooling. Hyper Tech's key collaborators on the project are, The Ohio State University - Wright Center of Innovation in Biomedical Imaging, The Ohio State University - Laboratory for Applied Superconductivity & Magnetism and the major MRI producers. "We are very excited about receiving this grant. With the support of our collaborators, it will enable us to perform the R&D necessary to dramatically decrease the price and increase the performance of our existing commercial MgB₂ superconducting wire," Michael Tomsic, President of Hyper Tech stated.

The MgB₂ superconductor has considerable market pull from the major MRI system producers, who are working closely with Hyper Tech. The world is faced with a severe shortage of helium in the coming years. The price of helium increased dramatically during the last three years, and the price of MRI systems that use it are expected to increase as well if no alternative is offered. Currently, all commercial superconducting MRI systems require liquid helium bath cooling. MgB₂ superconductors can operate at higher temperatures than required for niobium titanium superconductors currently in use in MRIs and can do so without liquid helium. Michael Tomsic further stated, "We are under great pressure from the MRI community and our customers to continue to improve the performance of our wires for the helium-free conduction cooled magnets." He went on to say, "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." Hyper Tech is the sole producer of MgB₂ superconductor wire in the U.S and should remain the leader because of its patented manufacturing technology.

August 2008 - Hyper Tech Research, Inc., Receives Two DOE Grants

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. They will enable us to dramatically decrease the price and increase the performance of our existing commercial magnesium diboride (MgB₂) and niobium tin (Nb₃Sn) superconducting wire products," Michael Tomsic, president of Hyper Tech, stated.

As users are aware, the world is faced with a severe shortage of helium. The prices of helium and MRI systems that use it are expected to increase dramatically if no alternative is offered. Currently, all commercial 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 on the superconductor can be tolerated. MgB₂ superconductors can operate at higher temperatures without liquid helium. It is noteworthy that these magnets are slated to be in the next generation MRI systems. Mr. Tomsic further stated, "We are under great pressure from the MRI community and our customers to continue to improve the performance of our wires for the 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."

Hyper Tech is the sole producer of MgB₂ superconductor wire in the U.S and will remain the leader because of its patented manufacturing technology. In addition to supplying MgB₂ superconducting wire to the major MRI system producers, Hyper Tech supplies MgB₂ superconducting wire for superconducting FCLs. FCLs are being considered by the power utilities to limit fault induced surges when renewable energy systems (i.e., wind, solar, fuel cell, and biomass) are added to the electrical grid. A superconducting FCL is a cross-cutting technology needed for these renewable and distributed energy markets. Attaching distributed energy sources to the existing aging United States utility grid increases the severity of fault currents, thereby exceeding existing circuit breaker capacities. Many companies worldwide are working to bring a superconducting FCL to the marketplace but are encountering cost limitations. Using Hyper Tech's low cost MgB₂ superconductor wire offers the best and quickest solution to reach the marketplace with these needed FCLs.

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."