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“ As a society we are constantly progressing, and there is an increasing need for power given the demand for AI, data centers, and critical materials. In terms of geography, there are two main demand hubs – the US and the Middle East – due to investments in AI and ongoing industrialization in Qatar and Saudi Arabia. Some studies suggest that power consumption will double or even triple every ten years, and others estimate that demand is around five times the currently available capacity. Many people don’ t realize the amount of energy required by AI, social media, and data centers, but ChatGPT uses around ten-to-12 times more energy than a Google search. Data center operators will be forced to find more efficient ways to protect data and cool servers in the coming years, but until they do, we need solutions that enable data centers to run just as effectively while consuming less power.”
With a vision to create an energy landscape for the next generation to enjoy, Mitsubishi is committed to a long-term sustainability strategy that comprises three pillars: decarbonize existing infrastructure, facilitate the hydrogen economy, and drive the energy transition through carbon solutions.“ Firstly, decarbonizing existing infrastructure is not only about reducing or eliminating carbon, but also simultaneously ensuring energy is affordable for the masses,” Javier explains.“ For instance, we know solar power is one of the cheapest ways to produce electricity, so we’ re championing that as a way of producing sustainable and affordable power.
“ The second pillar addresses the hydrogen economy to explore how we can change carbon-heavy molecules into low-carbon or no-carbon alternatives. Mitsubishi has been investing in hydrogen for more than 50 years across heavy industries, but we’ re now involved with several technologies that enable the ecosystem of hydrogen solutions in lesscarbon intensive applications. Lastly, we’ re
committed to finding carbon solutions that give value to the CO 2 extracted from essential carbon intensive processes. We’ ve developed a specific technology to capture, sequester, and compress CO 2
, and we’ re working with our partners to find the most valuable uses such as the production of SAF.”
As Mitsubishi expects a 50 percent increase in sales of gas turbines adaptable to hydrogen, we ask Javier about his thoughts on the role hydrogen is playing in the energy sector.“ The combustion process used in gas turbines is one of the most efficient, reliable, and dispatchable technologies ever developed, and we’ re investing to further improve efficiency,” he says.“ Hydrogen is clean, plentiful, versatile, and can be immediately integrated into existing power systems. As such, demand is phenomenal and our current backlog for turbines would take us well into 2027. We’ ve developed a global supply chain for gas turbines over the
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