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MHI Selects "Best Innovation 2011" Awards:
Fourteen In-house Recipients Include 1,600 Degrees Celsius Class Gas Turbine
And Forklift Truck with Radiation Shielded Cabin
Fourteen In-house Recipients Include 1,600 Degrees Celsius Class Gas Turbine
And Forklift Truck with Radiation Shielded Cabin
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Tokyo, January 18, 2012 - Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) has selected 14 of the company's most notable technological advances or achievements of the past year and designated them to receive its "Best Innovation 2011" award. The list of recipients includes a 1,600 degrees Celsius class gas turbine boasting the world's highest power output and efficiency, and a forklift with a specially developed radiation-shielded cabin for handling contaminated debris resulting from the Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster.
Five new products were cited for the "Best New Product Award," which is bestowed on new products demonstrating MHI's superlative technological capabilities; among the recipients is a heat-pump water heater enabling usage in ambient temperatures down to -25 degrees Celsius. The "Best New Business Process Award," which recognizes new processes that contribute to improvements in productivity or operational efficiency, was likewise bestowed on four recipients, including improvements to support on-site installation by the customer of the company's gas turbines for use in commercial power generation. The "Special Award for Best New Technology," given in recognition of globally unprecedented technological innovations, was awarded to three recipients; these included a newly developed special technology for measuring the world's most efficient gas turbines. The "Special Award for Best Company Image Enhancer," which cites major contributions to enhancing MHI's technological status or corporate image, was granted to two recipients, including a forklift with a radiation-shielded cabin; two units of this specially developed forklift played active roles in restoration work at the Fukushima nuclear power plant after the Great East Japan Earthquake.
The List of "Best Innovation 2011" award
"Best New Product Award"
• M501J Gas Turbine
• Pressurized Container Nozzle Repair Work
• CO2 Capture Plant for Coal-fired Electric Power Station
• "Q-ton ESA30" CO2 Heat-pump Water Heater for Commercial Use
• "ZE15/24B" Gear Grinding Machines
"Best New Business Process Award"
• Production Lead Time Reduction in the Impeller Factory through Profit-planning and Value-chain Based IT
• Improved Support of On-site Installation by the Customer of "DIAMOND SET" Gas Turbines for Commercial Power Generation
• Traffic System Product Operation and Maintenance Business in the U.S.
• Resident Engineer System and Proposal Services for Large-scale Machine Tools Business
"Special Award for Best New Technology"
• Mercury Removal System by NH4CL Injection
• Development of the World's Most Efficient Gas Turbine Measurement Technology (Patented) through Application of State-of-the-Art Technology
• World's First High-precision Non-destructive Inspection Technology for Power Generation Plants
"Special Award for Best Company Image Enhancer"
• RIKEN/HARIMA X-ray Free Electron Laser Facility (SACLA)
• Forklift with Radiation-shielded Cabin
[A description of the 2011 recipients of the awards in each category is given below.]
"Best New Product Award"
M501J Gas Turbine
(Power Systems, Takasago Research & Development Center)
The M501J is a gas turbine featuring the world's highest efficiency and power output, with an inlet temperature of an unprecedented 1,600°C. Power generation efficiency exceeds 61% in combination with a heat recovery boiler and steam turbine, and exceeds 41% when the gas turbine is used as an independent unit. The M501J enables a near 60% reduction in CO2 emissions compared to conventional coal-fired thermal power generation, thereby contributing significantly to reducing burdens on the environment.
Pressurized Container Nozzle Repair Work
(Nuclear Power Systems, Takasago Research & Development Center)
A repair method was achieved that enables on-site application of alloy 690 as a permanent preventive against stress corrosion cracking (SCC). Such usage has not been possible using conventional construction methods.
CO2 Capture Plant for Coal-fired Electric Power Station
(Machinery & Steel Infrastructure Systems, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries America Inc. (MHIA), Hiroshima Research & Development Center)
The newly developed plant is the world's first on this scale enabling stable recovery, at low cost, of CO2 from the flue gas emitted by coal-fired boilers. Such boilers account for a major percentage of all CO2 emission sources.
"Q-ton ESA30" CO2 Heat-pump Water Heater for Commercial Use
(Air-Conditioning & Refrigeration Systems, Nagoya Research & Development Center)
Application of the world's first scroll-rotary ("Scrotary") two-stage compressor enabled the achievement of a CO2 heat-pump water heater capable of heating water to 90°C in sub-freezing temperatures as low as -25°C with a coefficient of performance (COP) far exceeding products available from other manufacturers.
"ZE15/24B" Gear Grinding Machines
(Machine Tool, Takasago Research & Development Center, Hiroshima Research & Development Center)
The adoption of the world's first workpiece changer system featuring a twin tailstock has shortened idle downtime to 5 seconds. The result is a gear grinding machine achieving productivity surpassing that of corresponding products of both domestic and overseas manufacturers.
"Best New Business Process Award"
Production Lead Time Reduction in the Impeller Factory through Profit-planning and Value-chain Based IT
(Hiroshima Research & Development Center, Machinery & Steel Infrastructure Systems)
Production lead time and production costs have both been reduced through implementation of Value Stream Map (VSM) analysis of the flow of physical goods and information in the impeller production process, which has enabled the elimination of production bottlenecks. This has been complemented by the resolution of work process issues and the application of information technology (IT).
Improved Support of On-site Installation by the Customer of "DIAMOND SET" Gas Turbines for Commercial Power Generation
(Power Systems)
In cases where MHI gas turbines are to be installed on-site by the customer, MHI packs a bill of materials (BOM) for assembling each of the various parts (plumbing, etc.). The company also provides installation drawings showing overviews of each assembly, which makes it simple enough yet reader-friendly. Together these touches have enabled significant improvements in work performance. The company has also realized a system using portable computers that enables on-site search and display of drawings needed to perform installation work.
Traffic System Product Operation and Maintenance Business in the U.S.
(Machinery & Steel Infrastructure Systems)
A full-fledged operation and maintenance (O&M) business was developed for automated people mover (APM) systems in the U.S., including the establishment of a new company: Crystal Mover Services, Inc. The result is a highly reliable new O&M business model that has contributed to expanded earnings from APM system business operations.
Resident Engineer System and Proposal Services for Large-scale Machine Tools Business
(Machine Tool, Takasago Research & Development Center)
A structure was set in place to assign resident engineers to collect and analyze information directly at customer sites and offer proposals responding to any issues at hand. Also, a scheme was developed for proposing, as a business, retrofitting proposals using a database. Together these events have reformed service operations and enabled improvements in quality, cost and delivery (QCD).
"Special Award for Best New Technology"
Mercury Removal System by NH4CL Injection
(Machinery & Steel Infrastructure Systems, Hiroshima Research & Development Center, Yokohama Research & Development Center, Nagasaki Research & Development Center, Power Systems, MHIA, Mitsubishi Power Systems Americas, Inc. (MPSA))
The award-winning product is a hybrid combining the company's proven desulfurization and de-NOx technologies – which remove mercury contained in coal-fired boiler flue gas by injecting NH4CL (ammonium chloride) into the Selective Catalyst Reduction – with oxidation-reduction potential (ORP) control technology (patented). Full-scale verification testing has been implemented at the Miller electric power station of Southern Company in the U.S., and mercury removal performance was demonstrated above the planned level.
Development of the World's Most Efficient Gas Turbine Measurement Technology (Patented) through Application of State-of-the-Art Technology
(Takasago Research & Development Center)
In order to confirm the element performance of component parts exposed to high temperatures and high speeds, the latest measuring technology was employed to acquire performance verification data on the world's first gas turbine in the 1,600°C class. Also, information was distributed enabling accurate judgment of important GO-STOP actions during test operation. Together these advances have contributed significantly to final product verification testing.
World's First High-precision Non-destructive Inspection Technology for Power Generation Plants
(Takasago Research & Development Center, Nuclear Energy Systems, Kobe Shipyard & Machinery Works)
High precision was achieved for inspection technology implemented when power generation plants are newly constructed or put through regular inspections. For inspecting new steam generators, the company developed an eddy-current flaw detection technology for detecting defects directly under the surface of seal-welded parts of steam generator heating tubes. For regular inspections, matrix phased array ultrasonic flaw detection technology was developed that enables highly accurate measurement of the depth of cracks in dissimilar metal weld not readily penetrable by ultrasonic wave. Together these new technologies have contributed to the achievement of ever higher safety and reliability in MHI plants.
"Special Award for Best Company Image Enhancer"
RIKEN/HARIMA X-ray Free Electron Laser Facility (SACLA)
(Machinery & Steel Infrastructure Systems, Nuclear Energy Systems, Kobe Shipyard & Machinery Works, Mihara Machinery Works)
MHI's name was widely introduced for its powerful contribution to the creation of SACLA, Japan's first x-ray free electron laser (XFEL) facility – operated by RIKEN, Japan – which achieved the world's shortest laser wavelength: 0.08 nanometers. The company manufactured a 400-meter-long, high-accuracy, high-electrical field C band accelerating tubes, a core component.
Forklift truck with Radiation Shielded Cabin
(General Machinery & Special Vehicles, Nuclear Energy Systems, Technology & Innovation Headquarters)
In response to the accident at the Fukushima No.1 nuclear power plant, MHI undertook emergency measures and developed a forklift truck featuring a cabin shielded against radiation for removing contaminated debris on the plant premises, of which two units were delivered. MHI's quick response soon after the accident resulted in wide media coverage of the company's contribution to dealing with the aftermath of the accident.
About MHI Group
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) Group is one of the world’s leading industrial groups, spanning energy, smart infrastructure, industrial machinery, aerospace and defense. MHI Group combines cutting-edge technology with deep experience to deliver innovative, integrated solutions that help to realize a carbon neutral world, improve the quality of life and ensure a safer world. For more information, please visit www.mhi.com or follow our insights and stories on spectra.mhi.com.