Superconductors: Technologies and Global Markets

This report:

• Describes superconductivity and offers insight into its advantages and disadvantages
• Analyzes superconductivity technologies and materials including those used in healthcare, electric utilities, electronics, transport, communications and military/defense applications
• Discusses high temperature superconductivity (HTS) vs. low temperature superconductivity (LTS)
• Provides market forecasts through 2013
• Discusses industry structure with company profiles, technological trends, pricing, R&D and government regulations.

INTRODUCTION

STUDY BACKGROUND

Superconductivity is a unique and powerful tool in scientific research that has led to important strides in health care such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Other superconducting technologies on the cusp of commercialization will increase the efficiency with which electricity is produced and used, which will indirectly benefit the environment. In the future, superconducting technologies may be used to predict earthquakes, map the magnetic fields produced by the brain, and produce ultra-high performance computers. These are only a few examples of the wide range of superconductivity technologies and applications analyzed in this report.

STUDY GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

The overall goal of this report is to provide an understanding of the developing market for superconducting applications, materials, and other enabling technologies.

Specific objectives include:

• Identifying superconducting applications with the greatest commercial potential in the near to midterm (2007 to 2013)
• Analyzing the key drivers and constraints that will shape the market for these superconducting applications as the basis for projecting demand over the next 5 years
• Estimating current and future consumption of superconducting materials and other key enabling technologies
• Identifying the companies that are best positioned to meet this demand because of their proprietary technologies, strategic alliances, or other advantages

INTENDED AUDIENCE

This report is intended for marketing executives, entrepreneurs, investors, venture capitalists, and other readers with a need to know where the superconductivity field is headed over the next 5 to 10 years. Other readers who should find the report particularly valuable include government officials associated with the U.S. Energy Department and other national and state-level programs charged with advancing the development of the nanotechnology industry.

Although the report addresses specific superconductivity technologies and materials, it is generally non-technical in nature and coverage. Thus, it is less concerned with theory and jargon than with identifying the developments that work, assessing the amount of technologies the market is likely to purchase, and projecting the price of such technologies. Although the report is not written specifically for scientists and technologists, many of these professionals will be interested in its findings concerning the market for their work, including the availability of government and corporate research funding for different technologies and applications.

SCOPE OF REPORT

The report addresses trends in superconductivity technology and the global market for superconductivity applications during the period from 2007 through 2013, including:

• Science, research, and technology development
• Health care
• Electric utilities
• Computing
• Transportation
• Communications
• Military/defense
• Other applications

The study format includes the following major elements:

• Executive summary
• Overview (i.e., definitions, brief history, superconductivity characteristics, market summary)
• Developments in superconducting technology that are expected to influence the market through 2013
• Detailed market estimates and projections for each technology, application, and end use during the period from 2007 to 2013
• General assessment of expected technological and market trends in the longer term
• Description of key players in the emerging superconductivity industry

INFORMATION SOURCES AND METHODOLOGY

The findings and conclusions presented in this report are based on information gathered from primary sources within the industry, including vendors and users of superconductivity products. Interview data were combined with information gathered through an extensive review of secondary sources such as trade publications, trade associations, company literature, and on-line databases to produce the market projections contained in this report.

The base year for analysis and projection is 2007. With 2007 as a baseline, market projections were developed for 2008 to 2013. These projections are based on a combination of a consensus among the primary contacts and our understanding of the key market drivers and their impact from a historical and analytical perspective.

The analytical methodologies used to generate the market estimates are described in detail in the section on Detailed Market Projections. The documentation is intended to enable the reader to evaluate the projections, and if desired, substitute alternative assumptions.

All dollar projections presented in this report are in 2007 constant dollars unless otherwise noted.