Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) is prepared to double its production capacity for gas turbines within the next two years as demand for the technology continues to increase.
Eisaku Ito, the company’s CEO, on August 29 said turbine orders are growing rapidly as demand for equipment rises, in part due to the need for more power generation to serve the artificial intelligence and data center market. Ito was appointed CEO in December of last year and assumed the role earlier this year, succeeding Seiji Izumisawa, who transitioned to a new position as chairman of the board.
“We were working towards boosting production capacity by 30%, but that’s not enough to meet growing demand,” Ito said. “Fulfilling those orders is our top priority.” Global demand for gas turbines has outpaced supply in recent years as companies looking to replace aging infrastructure and build new natural gas-fired power plants.
The Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily on September 2 reported that Izumisawa said MHI is ready to expand production by concentrating on more efficient supply chain and manufacturing protocols. Ito acknowledged that manufacturing costs for turbines have risen due to higher prices for raw materials, equipment components, and labor.
More Orders for Gas Turbines
Several gas turbine manufacturers, including GE Vernova and Siemens Energy along with MHI, have reported increases in orders for the technology. China Merchant Securities, a financial analysis group, last month reported that new orders for GE Vernova gas turbines have nearly tripled year-over-year. The group said the total order capacity for GE Vernova has reached 55 GW, and is expected to hit 60 GW by the end of this year.
Scott Strazik, GE Vernova chief executive, last month said the company has a positive outlook for the gas turbine business. “We grew our backlog by more than $5 billion and increased our gas equipment backlog and slot reservation agreements from 50 to 55 GW,” Strazik said during a discussion of the company’s second-quarter results.
GE Vernova earlier reported orders for 7 GW of gas turbines in the first quarter of this year. The company also signed a deal for 29 of the company’s LM2500XPRESS aeroderivative units to support Crusoe AI data centers. That deal began with an order of 10 units in December of last year, and another 19 units in June of this year. The company also said it received orders for 7 GW of gas turbine capacity in the first quarter of 2025.
Siemens: Data Centers Driving Demand
The financial group’s report said new turbine orders for Siemens Energy were up 17% year-over-year, with at least a third of that new order capacity attributed to data centers. The group said revenue for both GE Vernova and Siemens for their gas turbine business was at least three times higher than a year ago.
Siemens Energy in August said it had 14 GW of turbine orders year-to-date, with 60% of those orders targeted for data centers. “Enormous demand for electricity for data centers in particular are now driving very high demand for our products in the U.S.,” chief executive Christian Bruch said.
Technology companies are looking at several avenues for supplying power for their energy-intensive operations, including natural gas, nuclear power, and renewable energy. Gas is seen as a cleaner alternative to coal-fired power, and more cost-effective than nuclear, with shorter construction timelines. It also is considered more reliable on a 24/7 basis than intermittent renewables such as solar and wind.
Ito said the turbine industry has experienced cyclical demand, which can hinder long-term investment, and also acknowledged uncertainty about future demand from data centers. He said MHI’s position is that demand at least will be strong for the next decade. “The goal is to be as lean as possible,” Ito said.
—Darrell Proctor is a senior editor for POWER.
