Mitsubishi Power preparing for ‘severe changes’ in power market

Mitsubishi Power must prepare for “severe changes” in the power industry, according to company president and CEO Ken Kawai.

In an address to employees to mark the start of the new year, Kawai said the subsidiary of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) Group is embarking on its own energy transition.

“The energy industry today is facing severe changes in its business environment,” Kawai told employees. “With global moves gathering momentum toward achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, constructions of new coal-fired power plants have decreased dramatically and competition in GTCC (gas turbine combined cycle) power plants has intensified.”

In the face of these adversities, Mitsubishi Power, working closely with other MHI Group companies that possess decarbonization technologies and ENERGY CLOUD, has set forth a roadmap for achieving the energy transition—a changeover to environmentally harmonious energies—by providing solutions that simultaneously enable two goals: expanded adoption of renewable energies and economic viability, he said.

Kawai said the company will undertake three core missions in 2021: achieving progress in enhancing its competitive strength; expanding business by pursuing a growth strategy focused on decarbonization; and renewing its commitment to safety awareness.

“High expectations are held of Mitsubishi Power because we account for roughly 30% of the business scale of MHI Group; and for us to achieve continuous growth will demand, above all, that we improve our profit structure,” Kawai said.

He said the first step in MHI Group’s energy transition strategy calls for reducing carbon dioxide emissions by decarbonizing thermal power generation. To do that, the company will be taking initiatives targeting fuels that emit no carbon, such as hydrogen and ammonia.

“Furthermore, in our quest to rebrand as an energy solutions company, we will pool our companywide knowledge and resources to drive forward three pursuits: development of new technologies matching market needs, global expansion in line with local circumstances and the market environment of each country, and the creation of a business model that will enable us to transform solutions into profits,” Kawai said.

The company, which was known as Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems before a name change in September 2020, said that the rebranding marked the start of a new chapter in its mission to grow as an energy solutions provider and help solve energy challenges including decarbonization.

Following the rebranding, Mitsubishi Power became a wholly-owned subsidiary of MHI Group, allowing the company to work more closely with its sister companies to tap into new verticals and build on investments in digital solutions, hydrogen, ammonia, battery energy storage systems and solar power.