UK registered technology firm, Oxford Instruments (LSE: OXIG) has won an order to supply an additional 9 tonnes of superconducting wire to ITER at a value of approximately £5 million. Investors welcomed the news which underlines Oxford Instrument’s role in one of the world largest scientific projects. The Company's shares rose over 3% to trade at £1.99.
Oxford Instruments is a worldwide supplier of high technology tools and systems for the analysis and manipulation of matter at the smallest scale. Their diverse markets include industrial analysis, research, education, space, and energy.
Today’s order is in addition to July’s £30m order for 58 tonnes of superconducting wire from Fusion for Energy, the European procurement agency for ITER. The deal has been agreed with Oak Ridge National Labs/UT Battelle on behalf of the United States ITER project office, the procurement agency in the US for ITER.
ITER is a joint international research and development project seeking alternative energy through fusion power and is one of the largest scientific projects ever undertaken. The experiment aims to demonstrate that it is possible to produce commercial energy from fusion.
The superconducting wire will be supplied by Oxford Superconducting Technology, USA, a wholly owned subsidiary of Oxford Instruments. The first deliveries will be in the financial year commencing April 2010. Deliveries will be phased over two years.
