MHPS J-Series Fleet Hits 750 000 Hours Of Operation

Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems (MHPS) announced that its global fleet of J-Series gas turbines had amassed over 750 000 hours of commercial operation.

“The industry leading efficiency and output of the J-Series gas turbine has propelled us into the global leadership position, but it’s the exceptional track record for reliability that is our greatest competitive differentiator,” said MHPS Vice President and Chief Technology Officer Akimasa Muyama. “Since the first J-Series entered commercial operation in 2011, we have continued to enhance product performance over time, but the one constant has been reliability.”

The global J-Series fleet now includes 39 turbines in commercial operation, with 28 of those exceeding 8000 hours of operation, and the fleet leader having more than 45 000 hours of operation. MHPS has delivered every J-Series turbine on time. Most importantly, the MHPS J-Series has achieved 99.3% fleet reliability since introduction.

One enabler of the J-Series’ industry best reliability is MHPS’s patented external hot gas path cooling design, which is designed to keep the maximum temperature of turbine blades about 200^o C cooler than other designs, the company said. MHPS said this allows it to use robust turbine blade materials with proven reliability.

“We lead the industry in the reliable introduction of products and technology. This is what our customers expect of MHPS, and we won’t take shortcuts,” Muyama said. “The best evidence of our continuing commitment to reliability is that we’re now building a second 60 Hz J-Series combined cycle power plant at our factory in Takasago, Japan. This power plant will enter commercial operation in 2020 and will demonstrate the reliability of the world’s first 65% efficient autonomous power plant.”