SCHENECTADY — The state Legislature has pledged $5 million to help Union College and Schenectady County Community College train the workers who could build Schenectady-based SuperPower Inc.'s next generation of superconducting wire.
The grant, announced at an entrepreneurs' breakfast at Union College Thursday, will fund laboratories and other facilities, the design and purchase of new quality-control equipment, and development of curricula around manufacturing the high-temperature superconducting wire.
The technology shows promise for delivering almost resistance-free transmission of electrical power, which could help alleviate shortages. The wire, which can carry much higher currents than traditional copper or aluminum technologies, also has applications in generators, transformers and motors.
The partnership could help SuperPower triple staffing in the coming five years, to 150 people.
“This initiative is the 21st century equivalent of Thomas Edison's original investment in Schenectady,” said Sen. Hugh T. Farley, R-Niskayuna, who helped secure the money in the budget. “Not only will the world's first production (of) second-generation high-temperature superconducting wire be manufactured in Schenectady, but the people who know how to design and build this leading-edge product will learn their skills in Schenectady.”
The money is included in the Legislature's version of the budget, passed Thursday to meet the deadline for the first on-time budget in 20 years.
The partners said preliminary discussions with Gov. George Pataki's office indicated the money was safe.
“They certainly recognized this as a great collaboration and a great concept. But we understand that in the budget negotiation process, there are no guarantees,” said William Schwarz, director of corporate and government relations at Union College.
Superconductors, when cooled to very low temperatures, can conduct electricity with almost no loss from resistance, which means more power can be delivered from existing plants. The U.S. Department of Energy estimates that about 7 percent of the energy currently generated is lost in transmission and distribution.
The colleges will help SuperPower design and implement quality-control systems for the manufacturing process. And through course work and internships, they are expected to turn out the scientists, engineers and technicians that SuperPower will need if it successfully commercializes the technology.
SuperPower is in the midst of a four-year project to install a high-temperature superconducting line as a test in Albany.
SuperPower President Philip Pellegrino said the partners have been in talks about the program for about a year.
He said the program would allow SuperPower to hire from within the region.
“It's locally growing a high-tech work force, rather than — as we and many of our colleges in Tech Valley have found — of having to go out and recruit these people from around the world. Why not train these people right here?” Pellegrino said.
SuperPower, formed in 2000, is a subsidiary of Latham-based Intermagnetics General Corp., which makes superconducting magnets for magnetic resonance imaging machines and patient monitoring systems.