Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) has announced that it will establish a new distributed power business, effective 1 July 2014.
The new department will integrate MHI’s distributed power operations which currently straddle two different business domains, and enable the company to offer ‘highly competitive package solutions’ in distributed power systems, as the market demands.
The new Distributed Power Business Development Department will oversee the following products: gas turbines derived from aircraft engines, heavy-duty small-size gas turbines, Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) turbines and energy storage systems (currently under the Energy & Environment and Machinery business) as well as reciprocating engines, district heating and cooling systems (currently under Machinery, Equipment & Infrastructure).
Hiromichi Morimoto, senior vice president and senior general manager, Business Division of Energy & Environment, will simultaneously serve as director of the new department.
Historically, MHI’s business has focussed on high-end, large-capacity offerings, but M&A’s and business integration have allowed the company to broaden its product line. MHI added gas turbines based on aircraft engines and ORC turbines to its portfolio (via the acquisition of Pratt & Whitney Power Systems (PWPS) and Turboden s.r.l. in 2013), and enhanced its lineup of heavy-duty small-size gas turbines following the merger of MHI’s business in thermal power generation systems with that of Hitachi, Ltd.
In the medium term and beyond, MHI says it is targeting in excess of 300 billion yen ($2.9bn) in distributed power related business.
MHI’s announcement follows GE’s launch of a new Distributed Power business in February.
