American Superconductor Signs Contract with DuPont to Manufacture First HTS Electromagnet Prototype for Industrial Processing Equipment.

Business/Technology Editors

WESTBOROUGH, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 27, 2000

New Market Opportunity Expected to

be Created for HTS Wires

American Superconductor (Nasdaq: AMSC) announced today an agreement to supply a powerful High Temperature Superconductor (HTS) electromagnet to DuPont (NYSE:DD) for a prototype industrial magnetic separator. Magnetic separation units are widely used by industry throughout the world. The most common application is for the removal of contaminants from kaolin clay a mineral widely used in paint, paper, and plastic.

"We believe that HTS magnetic processing equipment can provide significant improvements in product quality while increasing productivity and decreasing processing costs," commented Dr. Alan Lauder, general manager of DuPont Superconductivity. "The design and fabrication of superconducting magnet based products is expected to be a significant element of future business for DuPont Superconductivity in addition to advanced superconducting receivers being developed to meet the anticipated needs of the communications industry."

According to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the use of HTS wire in magnetic processing equipment could reduce the energy cost of operating the electromagnet by more than 90 percent compared with copper wire electromagnets. "In addition, the growing environmental remediation industry could capitalize on the capability of the device to separate out hazardous materials from waste streams," said James Daley, head of the DOE's Superconductivity Partnership Initiative.

The HTS wire for the magnet will be manufactured at American Superconductor's Westborough, Massachusetts facility. American Superconductor expects to recognize just over $700,000 in revenue upon delivering the magnet to DuPont.

"We are very excited about this order because we are using the same basic HTS wire for this application that we use in electric motors, generators and power cables," said Greg Yurek, American Superconductor's chief executive officer. "This creates the potential for a significant increase in market size for our HTS wire."

DuPont

DuPont, headquartered in Wilmington, Del., is a science company, delivering science-based solutions that make a difference in people's lives in food and nutrition; health care; apparel; home and construction; electronics; and transportation. Founded in 1802, the company operates in 65 countries and has 94,000 employees. For more information, please see www.dupont.com

DuPont press contact: Kathy Shelton at [phone]

American Superconductor

American Superconductor Corporation, headquartered in Westborough, Mass., was founded in 1987 and is a world leader in developing and manufacturing products utilizing superconducting materials for electric power applications. The company's products, and products sold by electrical equipment manufacturers that incorporate its products, can dramatically increase the capacity and reliability of power delivery networks, significantly reduce the manufacturing costs of electrical equipment such as motors and generators, lower electrical operating costs and conserve resources that are used to produce electric power. For more information, please see www.amsuper.com.

Certain statements in this release, including statements containing the words "believes," "anticipates," "plans," "expects," "will" and similar expressions, constitute forward looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. There are a number of important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include the uncertainties that : the company will be able to obtain the anticipated funding from corporate and government contracts; the company will be able to successfully develop and manufacture commercial products; a robust market will develop for the company's products; and the company will secure anticipated orders. Additionally such factors include: the risk that strategic alliances and other contracts may be terminated; the risk that certain technologies utilized by the company will infringe intellectual property rights of others; the competition encountered by the company, including several large Japanese companies; the amount and timing of the company's future cash requirements and the availability of satisfactory financing sources. Reference is made to these and other factors discussed in the "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operation" section of the company's periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.