Kawasaki Develops the M1A-17 – A High Efficiency/Low NOx 1,700kW Class Gas Turbine Engine

Tokyo, March 10, 2010 — Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd. announced today that it has newly developed a 1,700kW class gas turbine engine – the M1A-17. This gas turbine engine performs the highest level of efficiency with the lowest level of emissions in this power range. Kawasaki intends to use this engine to proactively expand markets in various areas, such as regional heat-and-power, factories, universities and other utilities.

The development of the M1A-17 is an enhancement of the already reputable 1,500kW class M1A-13 gas turbine engine that was launched in 1988. The M1A-13 is highly esteemed, with a total of 320 units (Japan: 150 units, overseas: 170 units) delivered to date. The M1A-17 was developed based on Kawasaki’s accumulated technology of small- and medium-sized industrial gas turbines over many years.

Electric output and thermal efficiency of the M1A-17 have been hugely improved by approximately 13% and 10% respectively compared with the current M1A-13 model. In addition, the M1A-17 is able to provide15ppm NOx emission with its low NOx type DLE combustion system (Dry Low Emission, O₂ = 15%), a reduction of approximately 50%. It is the lowest level of NOx emission compared with gas turbines of the same power range.

Currently, the range of Kawasaki baseload gas turbine engines is from 600kW to 18MW. With this newly developed M1A-17, Kawasaki’s product lineup has been further expanded.

Extending over 35 years since 1976, Kawasaki has delivered more than 7,000 baseload (GPB) and standby (GPS) gas turbine generator sets around the world. Among this figure, delivered baseload gas turbine generator sets number more than 600 in the approximate 25-year period since 1984.

Kawasaki baseload gas turbine generator sets have been installed in various industries such as textile, petrochemical, pulp and paper, as well as at hotels, hospitals, universities, and regional heat and power providers such as CHP (Combined Heat and Power).

Kawasaki has been developing ecologically friendly gas turbine engines and power generation systems for many years based on its own designs and technology. In the future, Kawasaki will further improve already established product development and manufacturing bases, and devote itself to the continued development of gas turbine engines that provide reliable and environmentally friendly service.

Kawasaki is a provider of industrial gas turbines for the domestic Japanese market and the European, North & South American, Asian as well as the Middle East markets and plans to expand its business with the cooperation of its regional sales affiliates.