As many industries, transition to renewable energy solutions continues apace, TMEIC Europe is ideally positioned to contribute to the realisation of carbon neutrality with its accumulated experience and know-how. Business Development Manager Mark Newman told Andy Probert how TMEIC’s ground-breaking technologies will play significant roles as a new industrial era dawns.
The July 2022 heatwave that blistered Europe and the UK served as a telling reminder that the greenhouse gas crisis is here. It can no longer be ignored by the majority of the population that sizzled in its wake.
“You can’t say climate change is not happening,” agreed Mark Newman, Business Development Manager of TMEIC Europe. TMEIC as an entity was created in Japan through the 2003 merger of the industrial systems divisions of Toshiba and Mitsubishi Electric.
While some companies have been slow or unwilling to catch the ‘transition train’ to a carbon-zero destination, TMEIC is speeding ahead by developing innovative integrated technologies for industry that promote a more sustainable future.
Renowned for a quality product range of motors, generators, AC and DC drives, controllers, inverters and UPS systems, TMEIC also develops solutions for industrial applications, wrapped around its core power inversion technology and complemented by plant-based equipment utilised via locally-resourced supply chains.
Clients are not confined to traditional industrial sectors, such as oil and gas, metal rolling, pulp and paper, mining, water and desalination: TMEIC is rapidly gaining ground in the power and renewables fields, by supporting the adoption and integration of renewable power generation through various energy storage initiatives.
TMEIC Europe, created in 2006 as a sales and engineering-focused subsidiary backed by its parent’s manufacturing
prowess spread across Japan, China, India and the US, has a 40-strong workforce at offices in London, UK, and Puglia, Italy.
Mr Newman asserted: “While we have a global footprint and brand behind us, TMEIC Europe is a smaller but no less dynamic and agile entity. We support our partners’ business ambitions with a more partnership-based approach, rather tha n on a customer-supply commoditised basis.”
This has led TMEIC Europe into the realms of new fields and new partners based on developing projects around hydrogen, batteries, and compressed air as energy storage mediums to support the integration of renewable power generation. These are for commercial power generation for national grid networks , and back into the traditional industries to help achieve carbon-neutral applications and economies.
“Through our learnings on battery energy storage for grid support, we are looking to support, for example, oil and gas partners to integrate renewable power supplies in their industrial applications and decarbonise their emissions.
There’re many significant challenges, so we look to promote our technologies into those traditional industries.”
Flagship project
Indeed, TMEIC Europe’s expertise and technological advances led to the winning of an order to supply two 49.5 MW large-scale battery energy storage systems for UK power grids.
The joint venture, along with Nippon Koei Energy Europe BV, a European subsidiary of Nippon Koei Co, will see the facilities constructed in southeast England and due for commercial operation in 2023.
TMEIC will provide storage battery systems that integrate software and critical equipment such as storage batteries, power conditioning systems for storage batteries and power plant controllers that control power, voltage and frequency.
TMEIC has a proven track record of delivering best-in-class battery energy storage systems in Japan centred on projects with r enewable
energy power plants (large- scale solar and wind power).
Mr Newman said: “This marks the first time for the company to deliver its systems to the UK market. Compatible with various options in the power market, including grid stabilisation services for the National Grid, the system will help address power grid stability in the UK where the share of renewable energy continues to grow.”
TMEIC has a battery system laboratory at an Indian subsidiary’s power electronics factory. This allows it to conduct state-ofthe-art demonstrations that combine a solar power generation system and battery energy storage system connected to the power grid and factory load, and realtime simulators.
Development and verification of respective control functions
required for the project will be carried out at the laboratory to ensure a smooth start-up.
TMEIC, participating as one of five Japanese companies collaborating in the investment and financing of the project, will continue to be involved after the sys tems have been delivered.
It aims to contribute to the realisation of carbon neutrality by deepening its accumulated experience and know-how in power electronics and system control technologies to support the growing use of renewable energy globally and provide solutions to issues and challenges.
Mr Newman confirmed: “The i ntroduction of grid battery storage systems is expected to expand in many countries and regions worldwide.
“What we learn through this project will also be implemented into industrial applications to achieve greater carbon-neutral ambitions in heavy powerconsuming related sectors. This will put us at the forefront in breaking new ground that will have a global impact.”
A change for good
Since its inception, TMEIC Europe’s turnover has grown six-fold, with annual growth rates above 10% per year for the past five years.
“TMEIC Europe is looking to expand further, especially as we grow our business activities in supporting carbon-neutral
economies. This underpins our very ambitious growth targets,” stated Mr Newman
“We have projects on the horizon: We are actively growing a pipeline of projects for battery energy storage technologies and developing solutions for industry decarbonisation, including onshore and offshore compressed air energy storage technologies.”
The company is also looking to adopt existing technologies into new areas that may not have been used or considered before and enable their efforts to drive further decarbonisation goals.
Mr Newman disclosed: “We are also developing solutions for the hydrogen economy, including both hydrogen generation and innovative rectifier technology that fits in with adopting renewable power generation.
“Our committed approach to collaborative solutions ensures we are positioned to develop innovative technologies, respond to industry trends and apply solutions to a wide variety of industrial market segments. From concept to installation, we develop lasting relationships by working hand in hand with our partners to ensure challenges are met and business goals exceeded.”
Efforts are being put in to develop and strengthen relations with new and existing clients postpandemic in the collective journey towards a carbon-neutral world.
“If we are to grow as we intend, then we will have to expand our workforce and localise engineering capabilities as we move into new business areas and grasp future opportunities,” Mr Newman outlined. “Managing and growing the supply chain is essential. A recent challenge that we have seen is the shortage of silicon-based components. That will prove a challenge to meeting project deadlines over the next 12 months.”
While TMEIC Europe is backed by a global 4,300 workforce and large corporation backing, the company’s agility, highlighted Mr Newman, enables it to be adaptable.
“We deliver quality products and solutions without sacrifice and follow an exacting Japanese-ethos in all our production, processes and standards.”
These are further propelled in maintaining long-term business relations with loyalty, trust and integrity as key fundamentals. He added: “These ensure we enable our partners get the most ou t of what they are trying to achieve.”
Mr Newman concluded: “Industries are in a state of change and transition. Europe is leading the way globally in decarbonisation efforts by putting in place mechanisms and incentives to achieve those goals.
“TMEIC Europe will have increasing significance in TMEIC globally as new ter ritories follow and learn from Europe as they move towards carbon-neutral economies. We want to support those goals as they are, undoubtedly, a change for good.”
