Alba Chairman visits Mitsubishi Heavy Industries facilities in Japan
“We are very excited to witness first-hand the JAC Advanced Gas Turbine (GT), the first of its kind in the world GT manufactured for a primary aluminium smelter, ready to be shipped to Bahrain for Alba’s Power Station 5 (PS5) Block 4 Project,” stated Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C. (Alba)’s Chairman of the Board Shaikh Daij bin Salman bin Daij Al Khalifa during his recent field-tour to Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI)’s Takasago Machinery Works and Hydrogen Park, in Hyogo Prefecture Japan.
Alba’s Chairman of the Board led Alba’s delegation, comprising the Chief Executive Officer Ali Al Baqali and Chief Power Officer Amin Sultan, in this visit to Japan, which also included a stopover to MHI’s Headquarters in Tokyo to discuss matters of mutual interest to include Block 4 of Power Station 5 as well as potential areas of collaboration such as sustainable technologies that are currently part of MHI’s portfolios and its power solutions brand of Mitsubishi Power.
Alba’s delegation met with Mr. Toshiyuki Hashi, Executive Vice President, President and CEO, Energy Systems, Mr. Takashi Tozawa, Senior Fellow, Senior General Manager, GTCC Business Division of Energy Systems, and other GTCC business executives.
Adding further, Alba’s Chairman of the Board Shaikh Daij bin Salman bin Daij Al Khalifa stated:
“We are pleased with the on-schedule progress of the US$265 million PS5 Block 4 Expansion Project, which once completed in Q4 2024, will be a turnaround in Alba’s ESG journey as it will reduce our overall GHG emissions, thus setting the benchmark in terms of sustainable and efficient power generation in the aluminium industry.
We are also proud to have achieved a Safety record of 712,790 safe-working hours without Lost Time Injury to date (as of 02 July) on this Project.”
Alba’s PS5 Block 4 Expansion Project is the addition of a fourth Block of similar 1:1:1 configuration with 680.9 megawatts (MW) M701JAC Gas Turbine Combined Cycle and includes tie into the existing 220kV Substation. Once operational in Q4 2024, Block 4 will increase the nameplate capacity of PS5 Complex from 1,800 MW to 2,481 MW and reduce its overall GHG emissions intensity ratio by 0.5x, thus supporting the Company in its race to decarbonisation.
Commenting on this occasion, Mr. Toshiyuki Hashi, Executive Vice President, President and CEO, Energy Systems, stated on behalf of MHI: "We are very honored to welcome the distinguished senior Alba delegation to our headquarters in Tokyo and to our Takasago Machinery Works and Hydrogen Park site. As leaders in clean and hydrogen-ready power generation technology, MHI is proud to provide our latest advancements to support Alba's goals of ensuring a reliable and efficient power supply, while continuously enhancing its operational excellence and productivity. Together, we are driving the industry forward to a decarbonized future with clean energy solutions that not only reduce environmental impact but also pave the way for a sustainable and prosperous tomorrow. This visit further strengthens our partnership and reinforces our commitment to support our industrial partners accelerate their energy transition, particularly in the hard-to-abate sectors.”
MHI’s Takasago Machinery Works is a one-of-a-kind facility for the manufacturing of Mitsubishi Power’s cutting-edge gas turbines. To ensure the reliability and performance of advanced class gas turbines, they undergo rigorous, long-term testing and verification under the same conditions as that of an actual power plant at Mitsubishi Power’s ultramodern, grid-connected T-Point 2 facility. The co-located Takasago Hydrogen Park is the world’s first center for the validation of hydrogen-related technologies, from hydrogen production to power generation.