Ten Years on the Frontline of Transition, from Thermal Power to Renewable Energy. What is the Appeal of Working on  Projects at a General Trading Company?

From the era when coal-fired thermal power was mainstream to the era of renewable energy such as wind, solar etc., he has steadily built 10 years of his career as our engineer in the rapidly evolving electric power and infrastructure industries, shaped by the trend of decarbonization. He plays a key role as an expert in technical support at Mitsui, talks about the attractiveness of continuously responding to change and the new perspectives that engineers are expected to have.

FFrom thermal power to decarbonization. Gained hands-on experience at the forefront of the industry revolution.

My career started at an electric power company. I then gained experience at a non-Japanese substation equipment manufacturer, and it has been 10 years since I joined Mitsui & Co. Power & Infrastructure Development Ltd. in 2015. When I first joined the company, most of the projects involved are thermal power. The projects mainly  consist of the development of coal-fired thermal power and gas-fired thermal power (combined cycle) at that time. I was involved in a wide range of phases, from bidding and construction to operation. I also worked on assignments in Dubai and Oman for a total of about 2.5 years where I was directly involved in the construction management of gas-fired thermal power plants. In that environment, I was the only Japanese there. The project management skills, international perspective, and network I gained while working at the project company there remain a valuable asset that I continue to fully utilize in the projects I work on today.

A decade has passed since I joined this company, and our scope has changed dramatically. The global decarbonization trend has driven a shift from coal to gas and renewable energies, such as wind and solar, as well as green hydrogen and ammonia. I gained experience working on renewable energy projects, a virtual power plant project, project due diligence, domestic offshore wind power generation projects, and other types of projects. With this experience as my background, I currently work on a green hydrogen production plant construction project in Australia, while concurrently handling offshore wind power projects and projects from a renewable energy development platform company. In addition, our company is involved in various cutting-edge technologies, such as CCS/CCUS, which capture CO₂ generated by factories and power plants before it is released into the atmosphere, and then either store it deep underground or put it to use.

What is remarkable about our company’s work is the fast pace of its work cycles and the broad range of technical fields it covers. Power plants operate for several decades. Meanwhile, for trading companies, it is quite common to sell a plant in a short period and take on new styles of electric power and infrastructure projects. What makes a trading company unique is its ability to proceed at such rapid speed and handle projects across such a broad range of technical fields.

One of the greatest strengths of the Mitsui Group is the network it has built across countries around the world. It also has many bases in developing countries. For example, we often already have a foundation for communication, which allows us to leverage the relationships the company has built with local governments through its oil and gas businesses for electric power projects as well. This advantage, unique to a general trading company, greatly supports us in implementing large-scale projects.

Although it depends on the projects, there are many opportunities for overseas business trips. I have visited project sites around the world, and long-term trips may also occur, for example, when participating in bidding. We directly communicate with various local stakeholders, including project managers and contractors, and stay up to date with the latest project trends, especially regarding technical aspects. This kind of environment is highly stimulating.

It is important to apply technologies and on-site experiences from a business perspective.

Our role in the Project Management Department, a group of experts with on-site experience, is to support Mitsui’s head office by providing insights for technical field. This involves how to assess on-site situations and how to interpret submitted reports. This is an rewarding job that provides support from both project management and technical perspectives by collaborating with consortium partners, consultants, and contractors to address challenges and by processing large volumes of information so that the management team at the head office can make right decisions.

What is needed is a bird’s-eye perspective that considers the entire project, in addition to technical abilities. It is not enough to dive deeply into technologies; it is also important to have a perspective that allows you to evaluate how a technology can be feasible as a business and how it can be realized and implemented through to completion. We find promising technologies and create a roadmap for how to apply them to our business. Since actual technology development is often carried out by partner companies, we play a role in bridging technologies and business in the upstream process. In other words, we need personnel with on-site experience in using technologies and managing projects who can apply that experience from a business perspective. An important skill is to accurately assess risks and possibilities under limited conditions and time, communicate them to various stakeholders with different perspectives, and negotiate with them effectively.

Have the strong will to create value and keep advancing at the cutting edge.

Every employee has their own experience and expertise and independently carries out their operations. This is a style in which employees learn through actual projects and achieve growth. Therefore, it is important to proactively take action and embrace the challenges of using new technologies and business models. In order to gain the trust of head quarter and our business partners and continue contributing to them, I believe it is important to stay up to date with the times, continuously deepen and broaden your expertise, and keep refining your ideas.

Personally, I would like to become deeply involved in more challenging projects and further deepen my insights and experience. A major appeal of this company is the opportunity to contribute to businesses and technologies that support the future of society through project management and technical work while also achieving personal growth.

Experts with diverse backgrounds are actively contributing at our company. They come from diverse backgrounds, including engineering firms, electric power companies, and manufacturers. Their unique experiences allow them to create value from different perspectives. In this environment, they mutually provide advice based on their experience and collaborate with one another. You, the reader of this article, also have unique technical experience, and I believe it can be effectively applied in new ways. I hope we can contribute to building a prosperous future by delivering infrastructure around the world together with a team that has a global perspective and by proactively taking action under challenging conditions.