- Plant startup target set for September 2021, will support Fukushima revitalization

- Manufacture of coal gasification furnace to start in January 2018 at Nagasaki Works, with on-site assembly to start in February 2019

TOKYO, Apr 13, 2018 - (JCN Newswire) - Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems, Ltd. (MHPS) will start construction of an integrated coal gasification combined-cycle (IGCC) facilities in Hirono-machi, Fukushima Prefecture. The full-turnkey order, placed by Hirono IGCC Power GK(1), calls for a next-generation high-efficiency power plant with a generating capacity of 540 megawatts (MW). The new plant is scheduled to commence operations in September 2021.

A ceremony to mark the construction start was held on-site by Hirono IGCC Power GK on April 13. Representatives in attendance from MHPS, which is in charge of constructing the power generation facilities, included President and CEO Kenji Ando and Senior Vice President Atsushi Togawa, who serves as Deputy Head of the Engineering Headquarters. President Ando took part in the formal ground-breaking ceremony for the plant's safe construction.

Construction of the Hirono IGCC plant is one of a number of IGCC-related projects underway in Fukushima aimed at developing the region's industrial infrastructure through realization of the world's most advanced thermal power plants, as a way of contributing to local revitalization. The plant will be built within the premises of the Hirono Thermal Power Station, an oil-and-coal fired plant with an installed capacity of 4,400 MW which is operated by TEPCO Fuel & Power, Inc., a group company of Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Inc. (TEPCO).

Manufacture of the coal gasification furnace which will serve as the core equipment of the new IGCC facilities will begin in January, 2018 at a dedicated plant completed in 2017 at MHPS' Nagasaki Works in Nagasaki. On-site assembly is due to begin in February 2019. The Nagasaki plant is able to manufacture the component modules of coal gasification furnaces, with reliability and short lead time, offering superlative durability against high temperatures and pressures. This is due to the strength of MHPS' welding and other core technologies cultivated through the manufacture of boilers for thermal power generation, and the incorporation of newly developed proprietary automated welding systems and an IT-based production system.

In an IGCC system, coal is gasified in a high-temperature, high-pressure gasification furnace, and power is generated using a high-efficiency combined-cycle format integrating gas and steam turbines. The system is revolutionary in that power generation efficiency is significantly higher and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions lower than typical thermal plants. Providing the dual advantages in efficient use of resources and environmental protection, demand for IGCC plants is expected to grow worldwide, especially in countries such as Japan which lack abundant resources.

MHPS has also launched on-site construction of IGCC facilities for Nakoso IGCC Power GK(2) in Iwaki, Fukushima, with operations slated to begin in September 2020. Nakoso IGCC is identical to Hirono IGCC. Going forward, MHPS will continue to proactively promote adoption of IGCC, thereby contributing to the efficient use of resources and protection of the global environment. 

(1) Hirono IGCC Power GK was established with capital from four partners: Mitsubishi Corporation Power Ltd., Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd., Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, and Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Inc.

(2) Nakoso IGCC Power GK was established with capital from five partners: Mitsubishi Corporation Power Ltd., Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd., Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Inc., and Joban Joint Power Co., Ltd.