Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Technical Review Vol. 58 No. 3 (September 2021)
1Digital Transformation for Power Plant withTOMONITM Digital Solutions

HIROYASU ISHIGAKI*1YASUYUKI KURODA*2

KENJI UMINO*2

KOJI SATO*3

ITARU ENDO*3

TOMOYA NIWA*3

Mitsubishi Power, Ltd. (Mitsubishi Power) started a remote monitoring service for thermal
power plants in 1999 and has been introducing TOMONI digital solutions for operation andmaintenance (O&M) optimization, performance improvement and flexible operation support since2017.
This report presents examples of TOMONI introduction to various power plants including gas
turbine combined cycle (GTCC), geothermal power generation and steam power generation.
Furthermore, as a way of utilizing digital solutions in the future, this report also introduces ourefforts to expand the possibilities from operational improvement to operational reform withTOMONI, leading to a carbon-free society and energy transition by creating new users and use
cases through a solution that combines OEM's physical technology with TOMONI's digitaltechnology.

|1. Introduction"TOMONI" is the Japanese word for "together with" and reflects our will to solve problemstogether with our customers. Based on our abundant achievements as OEM, we started thedevelopment of TOMONI in 2015 as an integrated digital solution including an analysis platform forvarious types of power generation and have transformed internal business processes and have been
providing services to Japan and overseas customers since 2017.
This paper shows TOMONI vision (Figure 1) and presents examples of introducing TOMONI
into power generation facility.
In the design, construction, commissioning and service departments of our company,
TOMONI's cloud environment made it possible to analyze and visualize data anywhere. As a result,not only has the number of users increased, but the way of working is also changing. Furthermore,in order to solve social issues such as changes in work styles due to the COVID-19 pandemics
addition to the issues of technology transfer due to the declining and aging population, we areworking on building a digital platform for online remote monitoring and support, and also presented
examples in this paper.
Today, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries' ENERGY CLOUD® and Mitsubishi Power’s TOMONI
are promoting system cooperation with a view to decarbonizing and energy transition for the entire
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Group and these digital solutions are reaching the phase of practicalapplication in various fields based on the expertise and experience cultivated in thermal power
generation equipment.

*1

Director, ICT Operations Department, Power Systems Service Headquarters, Mitsubishi Power, Ltd.

*2Manager, ICT Operations Department, Power Systems Service Headquarters, Mitsubishi Power, Ltd.

*3ICT Operations Department, Power Systems Service Headquarters, Mitsubishi Power, Ltd.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Technical Review Vol. 58 No. 3 (September 2021)
2Figure 1Configuration and advantages of TOMONI|2. Expanding provision of TOMONI digital solutions
Currently, we are providing TOMONI services to 81 thermal power plant units worldwide (asof the end of May 2021), centered on GTCC plants and steam power plants, with the connection to
the cloud environment at a high cybersecurity level. TOMONI has contributed to customers as afoundation that supports comprehensive maintenance services for power generation facilities
represented by long-term service agreements (LTSA) and supports availability guarantee of thepower generation facilities In recent years, however, TOMONI has played a role as a communication
hub centered on our remote monitoring center through which the customer and our company caneasily share information on daily problems in power plant operation and take action to solve them,
contributing to the establishment of good relationships with customers.

2.1

Introduction of TOMONI to GTCC plantThis section describes an example of the introduction of TOMONI into a GTCC plant in Japan.
In this project, TOMONI has been introduced since the construction and commissioning stage andmore than one year has been passed since the start of commercial operation of the plant. This project
aims to attain the best mix of IT (Information Technology) and OT (Operational Technology) for theentire plant including the main equipment such as GT (Gas turbine), HRSG (Heat recovery steamgenerator), ST (Steam turbine), etc., the auxiliary equipment such as pumps, fans, heat exchangers,etc., as well as the management of water quality, alarm events, etc., from daily communication toregular inspection planning. Some of the delivered contents are shown below (Table 1).
Table 1

Summary of delivered TOMONI contents (example)

Content name1

GTCC Performance
Diagnosis

2

Water Quality Assurance

3

Motor-Driven Equipment
Diagnosis

Summary
Evaluates the combined cycle performance and visualizes thedeterioration trends through automatic evaluation of the equipment
and parameter level and shows the estimated factors when
deterioration is observed to use them for maintenance planning.
Contributes to the early detection of water quality-related problems
such as equipment corrosion by comprehensively evaluating water
quality-related data and providing guidance.
Analyzes the motor current signal to diagnose abnormalities inrotating equipment (pumps, fans, motors, etc.) and contributes tooptimization by replacing TBM (Time Based Maintenance) withCBM (Condition Based Maintenance).

These contents and related service operations can contribute to the decision making of eachstakeholder. We will continue to have communication with customers to be aware of their needs andproceed with value creation (Figure 2).

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Technical Review Vol. 58 No. 3 (September 2021)
3Figure 22.2

Image of utilization of TOMONI service

Introduction of digital solutions to geothermal power plant

The characteristics of geothermal power plant include the difficulty in maintaining optimum
operating conditions due to the performance deterioration caused by geothermal gas and impurities
contained in the geothermal fluid, as well as the aging of the production wells from which steam andhot water are obtained. In addition, since the performance deterioration and aging changes differ
from plant to plant, it is difficult to take uniform measures.
Solutions for geothermal power generation can formulate optimal maintenance plans based on
the result of the degradation prediction of the power generation efficiency with scaling condition
such as silica and the result of remote monitoring (Figure 3).

Figure 3

Conceptual diagram of performance monitoring of geothermal power plant

In addition, our remote monitoring and support service can reduce unplanned outage periods
by detecting abnormalities, early planning of countermeasures and providing operational support.
By working more closely with our customers through the provision of digital solutions forgeothermal power plant, we will pursue the optimization of geothermal power plant operation,
support the economical operation and improved profitability of power plants and contribute to thestable supply of electric power and the reduction of the global environmental load.

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42.3

Contribution to overseas steam power plants with remote monitoring
For overseas steam power plants, we support customer operations through remotemonitoring using comprehensive anomaly detection service for the entire plant including boilers,
steam turbines and generators and improve the plant efficiency and operation rate by suppressing
unplanned outages and load restrictions and reducing aging deterioration of efficiency.
The anomaly detection captures state changes that differ from normal operating conditions,such as changes in process data. Then, through collaboration with JERA Co., Inc., which has awealth of experience in plant operation, engineers (experts) evaluate the analytical results,
identify the cause of abnormalities and provide a recommendation of further action for the power
plant operators based on experience in Japan and overseas plants.
For a coal-fired power plant of JERA Co., Inc., In the first three years, the anomalydetection service identified 138 anomalies that needed remedial action:.
Prevented unplanned outages and load reduction (18 cases) Prevented the thermalperformance deterioration (11 cases) and the reduction of countermeasure costs due to early
detection (109 cases). In these three years, 35 days of unplanned outages were avoided, which
led to significant loss avoidance. In addition, prevention of the thermal performance deterioration
contributed to fuel cost saving.
The customer said, "Remote monitoring engineers from the Mitsubishi Power GSC andJERA DAC are a vital extension to our team at Pagbilao. We were already using our own data todetermine action at our plant, but the additional support from Mitsubishi Power’s expert
knowledge and JERA’s O&M experience is invaluable. We’re able to prevent more unplanned
outages, increase efficiency and reduce maintenance costs, which makes our plant more
profitable and extends the life of our investment."

2.4

Support for building digitalization for existing thermal power plant
In addition to digital solutions for thermal power plant, we provide expertise to construct
the system in order to help our customers build digitalization (Figure 4).

Figure 4

Configuration diagram of data analysis system utilizing PI System® (Example)

We provide services that support the feasibility study, implementation and data analysis
work of a data analysis platform centered on OSIsoft® PI System®. Generally, in the support ofdata analysis, the establishment of an analysis environment is carried out, but it is also necessary
to select the process signals to be collected and analyze what they mean by using the plantspecific design information and operation and control expertise.
We can provide support from the standpoint of both a OEM and a large user of PI System.
For Daigas Gas and Power Solution Co., Ltd. and Nakayama Nagoya Kyodo Hatsuden Co., Ltd.,
we have built and delivered performance deterioration analysis and dedicated monitoring screensMitsubishi Heavy Industries Technical Review Vol. 58 No. 3 (September 2021)
5that combine the expertise of the customers and Mitsubishi Power. The product and activities
was well received. In addition, with TOMONI's expertise and PI System, we were able to reduce
capital investment to large-scale data analysis system. .

|3. New form of digital solutions provided by TOMONITOMONI not only provides the optimization of individual facility as introduced above, butalso creates new users and use cases by combining OEM's physical technology with TOMONI's
digital elemental technology and solutions. We expand the possibilities from operational
improvement to operational reform with the digital solutions.

3.1

Autonomous operation of GTCC plant

For GTCC plants, aiming for autonomous operation of thermal power plant, we extracted thenecessary gas turbine-centered mechanical technology and digital elemental technology and defined
the customer value and autonomy level obtained from them to formulate a content development
roadmap for each category and group. Currently, we have implemented the contents as a pilot plantin the demonstration facility at our Takasago Works for verification. Especially for autonomous
plants, we are carrying out development aimed at power generation facility that can flexibly respondto increasingly complex and diverse customer needs. Some examples include groups of contents that
improve availability by analyzing the unit startup process and trip factors during operation andavoiding abnormalities through preliminary inspections and tests, optimal plant hybrid operation in
combination with renewable energy and storage batteries, load operation support according to thefacility condition, etc., in addition to the traditional plant operation automation approach.

3.2

Utilization of digital solutions for soda recovery boiler

Soda recovery boilers are indispensable for the papermaking process and also for the powerand steam supply in the factory. Furthermore, in the trend of energy transition and coal fade-out
toward a carbon-free society, it is expected that the soda recovery boiler, which uses black liquor
derived from biomass as fuel, will continue to be operated as a main unit of paper manufacturers. On
the other hand, there is an urgent need to create a system and menu to support productivity
improvement, life extension and the renewal of aged facility while keeping investment to theminimum amount necessary.
However, in recent years, the number of newly constructed recovery boiler units in Japan andoverseas is small and dealing with the aging of experts with knowledge and experience in theirconstruction and the fostering of successors are urgent issues. In order to solve this issue, we areproviding and developing an operation optimization menu. In addition to the contents mentioned
above, the menu includes boiler tube leak comprehensive diagnosis, the proposal of recommended
inspection areas based on past cases as well as support for periodic inspections based on centralized
management of inspection records, and a mechanism in which the history of response to occurred
alarms is registered as knowledge that can be added by the customer or our company even during
operation and used for technical transfer as guidance.

3.3

Development to support field service operation

Due to the liberalization of electric power, many business operators have been entering thepower generation business and the power plant O&M market. We are working to support newbusiness operators by improving the efficiency of field service operations using TOMONI.
As a tendency of O&M's field operation, during the regular inspection season of each power
plant, the work schedules are congested and it is extremely difficult to adjust the dispatch schedule,
resulting in a chronic shortage of engineers. In addition to the shortage of personnel, the problems
with technology transfer and succession are becoming increasingly serious every year. Furthermore,
due to the COVID-19 pandemics, Japan and overseas travel have been severely restricted orprohibited, making it even more difficult to secure logistics and resources for power plants
commissioning and regular inspections. Until now, efforts to utilize digital technology have notprogressed from the verification phase for a long time because its ability level does not reach theskills and experience of instructors and workers.
However, urgent issues have accelerated efforts for the remote support of field operations. Dueto the communication infrastructure already established for remote monitoring, remote support for
regular inspections and commissioning, with which 3D data such as piping layout and parts

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6

information can be easily viewed through HoloLens or a tablet device even during field work, hasbeen rapidly initiated in multiple projects in Japan and overseas toward its full-scale introduction.
We have developed the O&M solution as shown in Figure 5 and have started to provide it tosome customers.

Figure 53.4

Introduction of ICT and O&M solutions for field operationStatus of efforts for future power plant O&M operation processes

We are working to build a digital platform suitable for new operation processes on the premiseof online remote monitoring and support. In the future this will provide a customized menu tailored
to individual tastes and occasions, both inside and outside the company and human interfaces thatmake analysis results easily accessible anytime and anywhere, enabling one-stop search, inventory
status confirmation and ordering of parts and spares in conjunction with e-commerce.
It is expected that the relationship between customers and OEMs will change dramatically inthe future with the use of seamless digital platforms. Through communication tools such as bulletinboards, chat, etc., linked to process data, unstructured data and TOMONI contents, we propose theoptimal response to situations and events, support the customer's decision-making process andshorten the time to service provision. Due to heightened environmental awareness, purchasing
behavior will change and it will be necessary to make the visualization of the entire supply chaineasier.
In addition, as noted above, the situation where the shortage of human resources is becomingserious strongly promotes the remote operation and automation of field work with high safety risk.
It is expected that personnel for routine work will be replaced by robots or AI as they becomes
available and that data that was previously collected during patrols of the site and compiled in areport by personnel as a preliminary step to routine work will be automatically collected using
wireless technology, stored on the TOMONI platform and combined with process information in theonline environment, which will contribute to the maintenance of all facility and labor saving inmanagement and operation work. We will demonstrate the effectiveness of this effort through fieldtests in the future.

|4. Conclusion
MHI Group is working to improve the efficiency of power generation facility and promote theuse of hydrogen and ammonia for the decarbonization of thermal power generation. To maximize
and optimize the expertise cultivated by OEMs, we have steadily accumulated achievements such as
the visualization of data including unstructured data, as well as process information, seamless data

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Technical Review Vol. 58 No. 3 (September 2021)
7linkage, user interface according to customer needs, etc. Furthermore, based on our delivery record,
we have applied the aforementioned digital solutions that TOMONI is promoting for conventional
thermal power generation facility covering the entire lifecycle from commissioning to O&M ofgeothermal and IGCC power generation facility.
In addition, by making the best use of the results of efficient work style reforms obtained
through recent in-house measures, we have been providing one-through services from the buildingof a cloud to the operation phase through a new communication form that corresponds to the current
remote work era and contributing to the more efficient operation of power plants.
Taking this remote monitoring service as a starting point, we will continue to contribute to theoperation of power generation facility, as well as to the realization of a sustainable society throughstable power supply and the reduction of global environmental load by increasing communication
with customers and proposing solutions that meet and solve customer needs and problems.