Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI)’s 500th gas turbine built at its Takasago Machinery Works in Hyogo Prefecture, has been shipped to Qatar, the company reported.

The milestone unit will be delivered to a large-scale power generation and desalination project - the Ras Laffan C Independent Water and Power Project - currently under way in Ras Laffan Industrial City, Qatar.
The milestone comes 46 years after the delivery of MHI’s first gas turbine in 1963.
The 500th gas turbine is the first unit of eight M701F gas turbines ordered by Ras Girtas Power Company (RGPC), which was formed by companies in Japan, Europe and Qatar. It was shipped together with the identical 501st unit. The plant to be built in Ras Laffan will be one of the world’s largest of its kind, consisting of a natural-gas-fired GTCC power generation facility with a total generation capacity of 2,730 MW and a desalination plant with capacity to produce 63 million gallons of water per day from seawater. The plant is slated to go on-stream in April 2011.
Takasago Machinery Works was established in 1962 as a dedicated turbine manufacturing plant of MHI’s Kobe Machinery Works; it became independent in 1964. Manufacture of industrial-use gas turbines was launched in 1963, and its first unit, an MW171 gas turbine with inlet temperature of 732 degrees Celsius (about 1,350 degrees Fahrenheit), was delivered to the Chiba Plant of Asahi Glass Co Ltd.
Since commencement of its gas turbine business, MHI has focused on technological development targeting higher gas turbine inlet temperatures to enable enhanced gas turbine power generation efficiency. In 1989 the company commercialised the 1,350 degrees C-class M701F and in 1996 developed the 1,500 degrees C-class G-Series. Earlier this year, MHI completed the world’s largest and most efficient 1,600 degrees C-class J-Series, and moves are now under way toward its commercialisation.
In tandem with these advances in efficiency, the paces of orders for and deliveries of MHI’s gas turbines have also been accelerated. Especially after 2000, the shipment of gas turbines has risen to the level of 20 to 30 units per year, mainly 200 MW to 250 MW class large-size gas turbines, with cumulative orders now reaching 535 units. With the added momentum from marking its 500th shipment, MHI says it will now aggressively conduct its gas turbine marketing activities globally, responding to demand for high-efficiency power generation systems, such as gas turbine combined cycle (GTCC) power generation, that contribute to conservation of energy resources and environmental preservation.
The companies investing in Ras Girtas Power Company include Mitsui & Co Ltd., Chubu Electric Power Co, Shikoku Electric Power Co, GDF Suez of France, Qatar Petroleum (QP) and Qatar Electricity & Water Company (QEWC).
MHI is to provide eight gas turbines and four steam turbines. Mitsui & Co is the construction contractor of the power generation and desalination plant. Mitsubishi Electric Corporation will be responsible for 12 generators. The desalination facility will be supplied by Sidem of France. Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co of Korea will play a coordinating role for the overall plant facility.
Headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, MHI is one of the world’s leading heavy machinery manufacturers with a diverse lineup of products and services encompassing shipbuilding, power plants, chemical plants, environmental equipment, steel structures, industrial and general machinery, aircraft, space rocketry and air-conditioning systems.