(MENAFN- Mid-East.Info)
Dubai, UAE: Mitsubishi Power, a power solutions brand of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI), and SEPCOIII consortium signed a full turnkey contract today with Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C. (Alba), the world's largest aluminium smelter ex-China, to expand Power Station 5 at Alba, adding a new 680.9 megawatts (MW) Combined Cycle gas Turbine Power Block.
“Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C. (Alba), the world's largest aluminium smelter ex-China, is on course to start the construction works for its fourth additional block in Power Station 5,” as stated by the Chairman of Alba's Board of Directors, Shaikh Daij Bin Salman Bin Daij Al Khalifa, during the signing ceremony with Mitsubishi Power & SEPCOIII consortium on Monday 16 May 2022 at Al Oasis Hall in Alba.
Present at the signing ceremony were Mr. Hideshi Kawamoto, President and CEO of Mitsubishi Power Ltd., Dr Javier Cavada, President and CEO for EMEA Region at Mitsubishi Power, Khalid Salem, President of Mitsubishi Power Middle East and North Africa region and GTCC Business Unit Leader, EMEA, SEPCOIII Vice President, Mr. Kong Lingfeng as well as the CEO of Alba, Mr. Ali Al Baqali, CPO Mr. Amin Sultan and other senior officials.
Under the terms of the contract, Mitsubishi Power & SEPCOIII consortium will be responsible to design, engineer, procure, construct and commission a 680.9 megawatts (MW) Combined Cycle Gas Turbine Power Block. Mitsubishi Power will supply a combined cycle power unit, which comprises of M701JAC gas turbine, an air-cooled version of J-series gas turbines and a steam turbine. Introduced nearly a decade ago, the J-series gas turbines, which are Mitsubishi Power's largest and most advanced, deliver an unmatched combination of 99.6 percent reliability and greater than 64 percent efficiency. The fleet has logged more than 1.7 million operating hours globally. The gas turbine's industry-leading operational flexibility will enable Alba to continue securing highly efficient and reliable power. To meet future decarbonization needs globally, JAC gas turbines are capable of using up to 30% hydrogen fuel by volume, to reach 100% hydrogen fuel in the future with minimal existing infrastructure modification.
Adding further, Shaikh Daij Bin Salman Bin Daij Al Khalifa said:
“We are thrilled to add a fourth block into Power Station 5 to bring its power output to more than 2.4 gigawatts (GW). Investing in efficient gas turbine, our latest ambitious power project, will accelerate our ESG transition and enable Alba to reduce its Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions as we embrace Bahrain's objectives to reach Net Zero by 2060.
We are also excited to partner with Mitsubishi Power & SEPCOIII consortium, and we look forward to achieving all milestones together and as per schedule.”
Commenting on the agreement signature, Hideshi Kawamoto, President and CEO, Mitsubishi Power Ltd. and Senior Fellow, Deputy Head of Energy Transition & Power Headquarters of Energy Systems, MHI, said:“At Mitsubishi Power, we are proud to support Alba and the Kingdom of Bahrain to achieve their sustainable development goals by providing our advanced technology. Working with our partners, SEPCOIII, we are committed to help Alba, the world's largest aluminium smelter ex-China, meet its operational efficiency and decarbonization goals, with our hydrogen-ready J-series gas turbine technology that leads the world in efficiency and reliability.”
Mr. Kawamoto added:“The Alba Power Station 5, Block 4 Project aligns with our mission to empower our customers with the most advanced, innovative and clean energy solutions, and our ongoing commitment to help the Middle East and North Africa region achieve a robust, reliable and resilient energy infrastructure that brings it one step closer towards a carbon neutral society.”
SEPCOIII Vice President, Mr. Kong Lingfeng said: “We are delighted to work with Alba on the landmark Alba Power Station 5 Block 4 project with our partners Mitsubishi Power. SEPCOIII will deliver a state-of-the-art power plant with superior turnkey project execution expertise that meet the highest levels of quality and safety and Mitsubishi Power's industry-leading gas turbine technology, to demonstrate Alba's aluminium industry leadership. In addition, we are committed to provide efficient and clean energy throughout the construction of this project, in line with SEPCOIII's mission to build excellent projects, fulfilling customers' aspirations and promoting the welfare of society, which will contribute to Alba's sustainable and green development strategy.”
Mitsubishi Power will further leverage decades of experience and innovation to build and supply the power technology, including the gas turbine, steam turbine, generators, and auxiliaries, in addition to providing technical support, with commercial operations set to begin in Q4 2024.
About Mitsubishi Power
Mitsubishi Power is a power solutions brand of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI). Across more than 30 countries worldwide, Mitsubishi Power designs, manufactures and maintains equipment and systems that drive decarbonization and ensure delivery of reliable power around the world. Among its solutions are a wide range of gas turbines including hydrogen-fueled gas turbines, solid-oxide fuel cells (SOFCs), and air quality control systems (AQCS). Committed to providing exemplary service and working with customers to imagine the future of energy, Mitsubishi Power is also spearheading the development of the digital power plant through its suite of AI-enabled TOMONITM solutions.
About Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C. (Alba)
Starting as a 120,000 tonnes per annum smelter in 1971, Alba, today, is the world's largest aluminium smelter ex-China with a production of more than 1.561 million metric tonnes per annum (2021). Its diverse product portfolio of Standard and Value-Added Products (VAP)s are exported to more than 240 global customers through its sales offices in Europe (Zurich), Asia (Hong Kong & Singapore) and subsidiary office in the U.S. Alba is dual listed on Bahrain Bourse and London Stock Exchange and its shareholders are Bahrain Mumtalakat Holding Company B.S.C. © (69.38%), SABIC Industrial Investments Company (SIIC) (20.62%) and General Public (10%).
Over the last five decades, Alba has been a major contributor to the social, industrial, and economic development of the Kingdom of Bahrain. The Company is at the heart of a thriving Bahrain's aluminium sector, which accounts for approximately 12% of the country's GDP. Renowned for being an employer of choice, Alba is a model in Employee Training and Development and employs over 3,100 people across its operations (2021), of which 84% are Bahraini nationals. It is noteworthy that in 2021, Alba achieved more than 581,000 training- hours despite the challenges of COVID-19.
Alba is recognised as one of the top industrial companies in the world with high standards in E nvironment practices, S ocial contribution and Corporate G overnance. Over 50 years, the Company has invested into projects that had a positive impact on the society in which it operates. More recently, Alba's US$37.5 million zero-waste Spent Pot Lining Treatment Plant, the upcoming 5-plus MW Solar Farm Project and strategic role in the future Aluminium Downstream Park are a testimony of Alba's Sustainability Roadmap that will meet the goals of Bahrain's Economic Vision 2030 as well as the Net Zero Carbon targets led by HRH the Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Bahrain in COP26 summit. In addition, globally-recognised certifications such as ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 27001, ISO 45001, IATF 16949:2016 and ASI Performance Standard Certification and Ecovadis attest to Alba's actions to produce aluminium responsibly and sustainably.
Safety of its employees and contractors' workforce remains Alba's top priority. Over the years, the Company has maintained an excellent track record in Safety and Health for which it has won prestigious international awards such as the RoSPA Gold Award (9 years in a row) and International Safety Award with Merit from British Safety Council in 2020. Alba stayed strong on its journey of Safety Excellence by topping more than 25 million safe working-hours without any Lost Time Injury (LTI) by XX 2022.
Alba has also been recognised internationally for its strong values and operating excellence, with the most recent ones being top ESG performer in Bahrain by ESG Invest; Safeguard Label from Bureau Veritas; and Best Corporate Governance Award by Ethical Boardroom. For more information on Alba, please visit Alba External Grievance Mechanism
Alba's External Grievance Mechanism receives and facilitates the resolution of any affected communities' concerns and grievances about Alba's Environment and Social (E&S) performance. External grievances about Alba's E&S performance can be logged via the Alba Integrity Line – an independently operated confidential reporting hotline in multiple languages – via a toll-free phone system or via the intranet 24 hours a day.
Alba Response to COVID-19 Pandemic
Alba's response strategy to COVID-19 was initiated back to January 2020 in line with the guidelines of Bahrain National Taskforce for Combating Coronavirus (COVID-19). The Company was able to maintain safe operations throughout 2021 thanks to its nimble workforce – employees and contractors' personnel.
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