Mitsubishi Power: innovating to modernise energy systems in Asia Pacific

The firm balances between delivering reliable power and protecting the environment.

Home to 60% of the world’s population, Asia Pacific is one of the places most vulnerable to severe weather phenomena caused by climate change. Because power generation accounts for a significant proportion of greenhouse gas emissions, it is no surprise that countries in the region are looking for more sustainable ways to produce electricity. 

Still, power is ultimately a source of good. People use it every day for work and play. Communities need it to drive economic growth.

As a leading energy solutions provider, Mitsubishi Power is helping Asia Pacific strike this balance between delivering reliable power and protecting the environment.

For decades, we have worked with governments, state-owned utilities and other customers in the region as they embark on their respective energy journeys.

Mitsubishi Power has been part of Singapore’s energy story since 2006, when the country made the transition from oil to natural gas for power production. To date, we have supplied six gas turbines, 33 steam turbines and 29 boilers generating approximately 6.75 GW of power for the island.

The COVID-19 pandemic has spurred even greater commitments from Singapore to establish a climate resilient future. As part of its recovery, the city-state is promoting decarbonisation and growing green industries such as carbon services and climate science.1 These are in line with the ‘4 switches’ framework set out by the Energy Market Authority to achieve a future in which energy is produced reliably and consumed efficiently, in part by increasing adoption of natural gas and emerging low-carbon alternatives. 

We believe that there are multiple paths to decarbonisation–all of which require optimising existing assets whilst simultaneously building new solutions. To support Singapore’s ambitions for a more sustainable energy future, Mitsubishi Power will continue to deepen and expand our collaborations in modernising the country’s power systems. We will improve efficiency of natural gas-fired power plants, provide advanced low-carbon solutions such as fuel cells and energy storage systems, and even introduce zero-carbon options such as hydrogen to support existing grid infrastructure whilst meeting the growing demand for cleaner energy. 

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Group, comprising Mitsubishi Power and other companies, is proud to be a long-standing partner in the country’s energy journey – from the provision of highly efficient gas turbines to Tuas Power, one of Singapore’s largest power companies, in 2001 to the recent joint exploration to implement a hydrogen-powered data centre with Keppel Data Centres. 

On top of building strong local partnerships, we are at the forefront of developing innovative energy technologies like our highly efficient J-Series gas turbines. Additionally, our Gas Turbine Combined Cycle (GTCC), and biomass fueled technologies are set to transform power systems all around Asia Pacific–making them more efficient whilst significantly reducing their carbon emissions. 

We are also engineering the power plant of the future, incorporating technologies not usually associated with power generation such as data analytics and Artificial Intelligence as well as building capacity to run with cleaner fuels. Our T-Point 2 GTCC validation facility in Japan–regarded as an icon for long-term prototype testing–is on track to becoming the world’s first autonomous combined cycle plant powered by our suite of AI-enabled TOMONI™ digital solutions.

And to further support the realisation of a zero-carbon society, we are working toward accelerating hydrogen adoption in power generation. In 2018, we completed test trials of 30% hydrogen co-firing in gas turbines using dry low NOx combustion technology. Now, we are in the midst of converting GTCC plants in the Netherlands to run solely on hydrogen by 2025. 

Mitsubishi Power is paving the way for an energy future that works for people and the planet. With clear commitments and plans, we are confident that this future can be achieved in Singapore and in this region. Access to clean, reliable and affordable power begets progress, and nowhere is this potential greater today than in Asia Pacific.

Find out more about Mitsubishi Power's upcoming technologies here.