US manufacturer General Electric (GE) [GE:US] and Japanese conglomerate Toshima [6502:JP] are planning to establish a domestic supply chain for offshore wind power equipment in Japan, as reported by Nikkei Asia on July 16. Toshima plans to coordinate with approximately 100 small and medium-sized suppliers of turbine components and the generator, with an aim to achieve a 60% domestic procurement rate by value by 2040. The recent collaboration builds on the strategic partnership formed between Toshiba and GE in 2021 to localize the manufacturing of GE’s Haliade-X offshore wind turbines in Japan.

GE is seeking to enhance its competitiveness in Japan’s emerging offshore wind market. In the first round of bidding for fixed-bottom offshore wind projects held in December 2021, Mitsubishi-led consortiums were selected to develop three projects with a total capacity of 1.7 gigawatts (GW). GE’s Haliade-X wind turbines will be used in all three projects, with Toshima responsible for the assembly work. The Japanese government has also recently completed the bidding process for the second round of offshore wind power tenders, targeting the construction of 1.8GW of capacity in four areas. As part of its decarbonization efforts, Japan aims to install up to 10GW of offshore wind capacity by 2030 and 45GW by 2040.

Sources:

https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Energy/Toshiba-builds-Japanese-supply-chain-for-offshore-wind-turbines

https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/toshiba-general-electric-build-offshore-wind-equipment-supply-chain-japan-nikkei-2023-07-15/

https://bnn.network/breaking-news/energy/toshiba-and-general-electric-join-forces-to-establish-offshore-wind-power-supply-chain-in-japan/

https://www.offshorewind.biz/2021/12/24/breaking-mitsubishi-only-winner-in-japanese-offshore-wind-auction-ge-turbines-for-all-sites/