Mitsubishi gas turbine backlog hits 35 GW as orders surge
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- Mitsubishi Heavy Industries' restructured Energy Systems division saw order intake rise 56% year over year in Q1 FY2026, with Senior VP and CFO Hiroshi Nishio saying demand for gas turbines and nuclear power has already met or exceeded expectations just three months into the fiscal year.
- Mitsubishi booked 10 large-frame gas turbine orders in Q1 — four bound for the U.S. and six for Japan — pushing its backlog to 35 GW, up from 23 GW a year earlier and more than double the 16 GW it shipped in all of FY2025.
- Mitsubishi still plans to double its gas turbine production capacity relative to 2024 levels, though Nishio said orders booked this quarter are scheduled for delivery between 2028 and 2030, and the company continues to evaluate the need for additional expansion.
- Nuclear power orders — covering light-water reactors, nuclear fuel and other solutions — rose roughly 53% year over year alongside the gas turbine gains, according to the company's August 4 financial disclosures.
- Mitsubishi reported ¥10 billion ($63M USD) in one-time earnings from the sale of power generation interests in South America and elsewhere, plus ¥15 billion ($94M USD) from a single large power generation project contract that Nishio declined to discuss with analysts.
- Mitsubishi restructured its business on April 1, creating a new "Industrial Solutions" division (engines, air conditioning, turbochargers, automotive thermal) that replaces the old "Logistics, Thermal & Drive Systems" division after the forklift business was sold to Japan Industrial Partners.
- Nishio said the July 28 earthquake that struck Kumamoto in southern Japan had not significantly impacted the company.
Why it matters: U.S. utility customers now face multi-year waits for new large-frame gas turbines, with Mitsubishi's backlog doubling to 35 GW and deliveries stretching to 2028–2030. Mitsubishi is being selective in which U.S. utility projects it contracts, explicitly citing a goal of "improving profitability on new orders" — meaning tighter supply and rising prices for utilities racing to meet surging power demand.
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