Arm in arm through 2020 and toward 2021
Many of you will agree that 2020 has been an unusual – and somewhat challenging – year. For me, it has been a turning point, personally and professionally.
COVID-19 has significantly altered the energy sector, with the International Energy Agency projecting declines in global energy demand, investments, and energy-related carbon dioxide emissions this year. The pandemic has increased emphasis on digitization and distributed power generation.
Under these circumstances, Mitsubishi Power’s work in ensuring that everyone has access to power that is clean, reliable and affordable has never been more important.
Business and energy in a new reality
In early 2020, I was appointed CEO and Managing Director of Mitsubishi Power Asia Pacific. The role came with the tasks to steward our business in the region, uncover opportunities for growth and establish greater synergies within the organization. But most importantly, I am now responsible for ensuring that we are adequately supporting and meeting the energy demands of communities in the region.
Having been posted to different countries over the course of my nearly four-decade career with Mitsubishi Power and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI), navigating new business environments and cultures has become second nature to me. Yet this assignment has proven to be atypical.
From spending 14 days in solitude serving Singapore’s ‘Stay Home Notice’ to having my first meetings with employees, customers and partners on virtual platforms, 2020 taught me to be more flexible but also to take things I have no control over in stride.
This past September, Mitsubishi Power also underwent a rebrand. With this significant milestone, we reaffirmed our commitment to delivering reliable and decarbonized power everywhere through deeper partnership with our sister companies within MHI. Here in APAC, we stay true to our DNA – offering omotenashi¹ and leveraging our local expertise to deliver customized solutions for the region’s varying needs and challenges.
MHI Group also recently announced our group-wide goal to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, in line with a parallel target set by the Japanese government as well as many other countries and organizations around the world. At Mitsubishi Power, this means ramping up development of next-generation technologies to enable decarbonization more efficiently and quickly – a challenging yet crucial task.
Development and environment
One key idea that has been thrown into sharper relief during this challenging time is that power is key to galvanizing progress.
Even as countries in the region rapidly develop, there are still millions of people without access to clean and reliable power. This begs the question: How can we generate power in a way that facilitates economic growth while ensuring that progress does not come at the expense of the world that we live in?
This question was central in the many conversations I’ve had with my colleagues and customers over the last several months. Discussions at events like Singapore International Energy Week and the ASEAN Energy Business Forum highlighted the need to scale the region’s decarbonization efforts while still meeting the growing energy demands – in part through stronger collaborations across public and private sectors.
This question is undoubtedly at the heart of everything we do at Mitsubishi Power – and we have made great strides in answering it this past year.
Our J-Series gas turbines, which lead the industry in fuel efficiency and reliability, clocked 1 million operating hours earlier this year. Our T-Point 2 facility for long-term validation of gas turbines entered full commercial operations – paving the way for even more efficient and reliable power systems to enter the market and in the process gaining recognition from the industry.
Here in the region, we strengthened partnerships with the likes of PLN and the Bandung Institute of Technology in Indonesia to determine viable pathways towards introducing cleaner fuels such as biomass, hydrogen and ammonia into national grids. In the Philippines, we are slated to start rehabilitation of a geothermal plant as part of efforts to continue bringing cleaner power to Filipinos. And our footprint in gas power continues to grow with orders and deliveries of our JAC gas turbines announced in Thailand.
To be sure, my career shift during a pandemic has been significant. But it is small in context of the massive upheavals that have happened in every part of the economy and civil society this year.
Our work at bettering the world continues.
I believe that we do not need to choose between maintaining energy security and protecting the environment. As we ring in the new year, I remain committed to working with our partners and customers to create an energy future that works for people and the planet.
¹Omotenashi refers to Japanese hospitality centered on providing outstanding service to guests or customers.