Hitachi Energy has won an order from SP Energy Networks to design and deliver a first-of-its-kind power quality solution to stabilize the grid and boost the flow of renewable energy from Scotland to England. The solution will enable SP Energy Networks, the electricity network operator for Central & Southern Scotland and Merseyside, Cheshire, North & Mid-Wales and North Shropshire, to add more renewables into the grid and facilitate the phase-out of fossil fuels.
The project, located at SP Energy Networks’ substation at Eccles, consists of two sets of an SVC Light® STATCOM and a synchronous condenser controlled centrally by the MACH™ control system, connected at a common electrical node. This unique combination of technologies will maximize the future power system’s potential while also providing increased system stability and security, thus supporting the increasing integration of renewables into the electricity grid.
Each STATCOM installation uses Hitachi Energy’s advanced power electronics and technology-leading MACH control and protection solution to provide system strength, instantaneous voltage control, and enable maximum power flow. This technology, which entrusts the MACH control to manage both STATCOM and the synchronous condenser, is market leading. It builds on an earlier collaboration between SP Energy Networks and Hitachi Energy on the networkinnovation competition project Phoenix supported by Ofgem, the energy regulator for the UK.
“The innovative power quality solution will increase the transfer capacity between Scotland and England by up to 280 MW by improving the transmission network’s strength and stability as more renewable generation is connected in Scotland,” said Billy Moore, Senior Project Manager at SP Energy Networks. “The criticality of technology such as thiswill become more important as we reduce the usage of fossil fuels.”
“We are delighted to have co-created this innovative solution with SP Energy Networks, which will maintain grid stability and enable more clean electricity to flow through the system in the UK,” said Marco Berardi, Head of Grid & Power Quality Solutions and Service business at Hitachi Energy. “This pioneering innovation is yet another addition to ourever-evolving portfolio of power quality solutions that help grid operators overcome the immediate and long-term challenges of the energy transition.”
With the integration of more renewable energy into the grid and the move away from conventional power plants, transmission system operators face challenges maintaining grid stability and power quality. In this project, the SVC Light STATCOM and synchronous condenser with combined control generate or absorb reactive power to adjust thegrid voltage and maintain system stability and resilience.
Note to editors
1. Static synchronous compensator (STATCOM) continuously provides variable reactive power inresponse to voltage variations, supporting the stability of the grid.
2. The MACH Control System acts as the brain of SVC Light using state-of-the-art computers, microcontrollers and digital signal processors.
About Hitachi Energy
Hitachi Energy is a global technology leader that is advancing a sustainable energy future for all. We serve customers in the utility, industry and infrastructure sectors with innovative solutions and services across the value chain. Together with customers and partners, we pioneer technologies and enable the digital transformation required to accelerate the energy transition towards a carbon-neutral future. We are advancing the world’s energy system to become more sustainable, flexible and secure whilst balancing social, environmental and economic value. Hitachi Energy has a proven track record and unparalleled installed base in more than 140 countries. We integrate more than 150 GW ofHVDC links into the power system, helping our customers enable more wind and solar. Headquartered in Switzerland,we employ more than 40,000 people in 90 countries and generate business volumes of over $10 billion USD.
Hitachi drives Social Innovation Business, creating a sustainable society through the use of data and technology. We solve customers’ and society’s challenges with Lumada solutions leveraging IT, OT (Operational Technology) andproducts. Hitachi operates under the business structure of “Digital Systems & Services” – supporting our customers’ digital transformation; “Green Energy & Mobility” – contributing to a decarbonized society through energy and railway systems, and “Connective Industries” – connecting products through digital technology to provide solutions in various industries. Driven by Digital, Green, and Innovation, we aim for growth through co-creation with our customers. The company’s consolidated revenues for fiscal year 2022 (ended March 31, 2023) totaled 10,881.1 billion yen, with 696 consolidated subsidiaries and approximately 320,000 employees worldwide. For more information on Hitachi, please visit the company’s website at www.hitachi.com.
Hitachi Selected as “Excellent TCFD Disclosure” by GPIF’s External Asset Managers for the Third Consecutive Year
Hitachi, Ltd. (TSE: 6501) has been selected as an “excellent TCFD*1 disclosure” from external asset managers entrusted with the Japanese equity investment of Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF) forthe third consecutive year. Hitachi received a high evaluation from eight asset managers, which is the highest number among the selected companies.
The reasons for the selection are as follows.
The description of each item is in line with the TCFD Recommendations and Implementation Guidance and the high level of initiatives. The descriptions are also very clear.
For each business segment, segment strategies are disclosed in a matrix based on the business environment, risks, and opportunities under the 1.5°C and 4°C scenarios and the market environment perception based on factors other than the environment that do not depend on the 1.5°C and 4°C scenarios. The company clearly states that it is highly resilient under any scenario.
The 1.5°C and 4.0°C scenario analysis for each of the main businesses, together with the consideration of non-environmental factors, indicates a high degree of resilience. The establishment of a green strategy promotion structure can be understood through sustainability-related meetings.
The contribution to decarbonization and the linkages to their own business are disclosed clearly throughout. Thedetailed disclosure of decarbonization business opportunities and reduction contributions shows a commitment to contributing to decarbonization through its business. It is also highly commendable that internal carbon pricing enables the company to invest in decarbonization.
Beyond the TCFD framework, high quality disclosures can be identified on climate change and related environmental topics. It can provide investors with clear and understandable information on key points, even though it covers multiple business areas.
All four items of the TCFD, including specific targets, detailed settings and use cases, are commended for their easy-to-understand disclosure to the reader.
Sustainability governance, particularly compensation governance, is highly effective. The company clearly states that it is highly resilient across the value chain through transition planning and scenario analysis. It expresses the size of its contribution potential and business opportunities through, for example, proactive disclosure of reductioncontribution targets and results.
There is a balanced disclosure of the actions that have been taken so far regarding the four TCFD elements ‘Governance’, ‘Strategy’, ‘Risk Management’ and ‘ Metrics and Targets’. In particular, the disclosure of actual andtargeted reductions in greenhouse gas emissions is easy to understand and highly evaluated.
Hitachi began disclosing risks and opportunities related to climate change with Hitachi Sustainability Report 2014. The requirement of the disclosure was highlighted in the TCFD Final Report (TCFD recommendations) released in 2017. In response, Hitachi expressed its support for the TCFD recommendations in 2018 and began enhancing its disclosures based on the TCFD recommendations with Hitachi Sustainability Report 2018. Additionally, since its establishment in2019, Hitachi has been actively involved as a planning committee member in the TCFD Consortium*2.
Going forward, Hitachi is committed to pursuing business activities aimed at achieving its Environmental Vision and long-term environmental targets outlined in “Hitachi Environmental Innovation 2050”, while also continue to advancethe disclosure of information in a demand of stakeholders.
(1) The Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (2) An organization that facilitates discussions on effective corporate information disclosure and aims to link disclosed information with appropriate investment decisions by financial institutions and others.
Hitachi drives Social Innovation Business, creating a sustainable society through the use of data and technology. We solve customers’ and society’s challenges with Lumada solutions leveraging IT, OT (Operational Technology) andproducts. Hitachi operates under the business structure of “Digital Systems & Services” – supporting our customers’ digital transformation; “Green Energy & Mobility” – contributing to a decarbonized society through energy and railway systems, and “Connective Industries” – connecting products through digital technology to provide solutions in various industries. Driven by Digital, Green, and Innovation, we aim for growth through co-creation with our customers. The company’s consolidated revenues for fiscal year 2022 (ended March 31, 2023) totaled 10,881.1 billion yen, with 696 consolidated subsidiaries and approximately 320,000 employees worldwide. For more information on Hitachi, please visit the company’s website at https://www.hitachi.com.
JFE Steel Corporation (“JFE Steel”) and Hitachi, Ltd. (TSE:6501, “Hitachi”) today announced that they have started to provide a solution (the “Solution”), which combines JFE Steel’s consulting programs and Hitachi’s automatic cold-rolling flatness control system, to steel companies in both Japan and overseas. The Solution features the combination of Hitachi’s system, which uses an artificial intelligence (AI) to automatically control the steel sheet flattening process by a rolling mill, and JFE Steel’s consulting programs (regarding the introduction of systems and optimal operations), a service that leverages its high-level operational expertise in ways that meets customer needs.Traditionally, wavy steel sheets are flattened by a rolling mill that must be finely adjusted manually by skilled operators. The Solution will address relevant issues such as the deterioration of yields due to differences in operators’ technical skills and the transfer of expert skills, and in addition, help customers improve their skills and product quality.
The JFE Group has been working to improve production efficiency and yields and drastically enhance labor productivity through the DX-driven introduction of new technologies. In addition, it has been promoting a solution business to provide a broad range of customers engaging in manufacturing businesses with methods for producing high value-added products, which the Group has developed through the operation and management of steelworks, and technological, operational and research expertise to address issues related to facility maintenance and environmental load reduction.
Hitachi has been offering Lumada*1 solutions to accelerate DX by leveraging products, OT (operational technologies) and IT, which it has developed over many years as a manufacturing company, as well as a wealth of knowledge and expertise (domain knowledge) that it has acquired through the provision of solutions to issues faced by customers operating in broad areas and domains in the manufacturing industry. In the steel business area, it has been globally promoting facilities, process lines, control systems and other equipment for plants as a comprehensive system.
Background
The transfer of operators’ skills is a major issue on the front lines of the steel manufacturing industry, in which a generational change is underway. To flatten wavy steel, which occurs at each side or in the center of a steel sheet during the manufacturing of steel sheets, it is necessary for the operator to measure waviness and implement feedback-based control while simultaneously manually making fine adjustments. Inexperienced operators find it difficult to manufacture products with different shape accuracy and quality requirements compared to skilled operators, which can lead to poor product yield and breakage issues due to shape defects. To address such issues, Hitachi developed a technology that automatically performs high-quality shape control in 2017*2, which features a process in which AI learns the relationship between operational data about highly skilled operators and data about the shapes of steel sheets, enabling the results of this learning to be reflected in the output of the control system. It has been providing the technology as an automatic cold-rolling flatness control system in Japan and also overseas. JFE Steel introduced the system on its production lines in 2021. Since then, it has been achieving a great deal, such as improved product yields, higher utilization rates and reduced operator workload through automation. Moreover, enabling the operational knowledge and expertise of skilled operators to be reflected in automated processes led to increased productivity and the stabilization of product quality through the prevention of problems.
Building on these results, JFE Steel and Hitachi started to provide the Solution combining the two companies’ strengths with a view toward addressing the issues faced by their customers in cold-rolling-based manufacturing. The two companies will work together to consider the configuration and make adjustments to the system that is optimal for customers’ installation.
(1) Lumada: A collective term for solutions, services and technologies based on Hitachi’s advanced digital technologies for creating value from customers’ data accelerating digital innovation (2) Hitachi, Ltd. news release titled “Hitachi Develops Real-Time Control Technology of Cold Rolling Plants for Steel Plants Using AI” announced on October 31, 2017.
Contact:
JFE Steel Corporation Contact Us (msgs.jp)
Hitachi, Ltd.Business Contact Inquiry form: Industry
Hitachi, Ltd. (TSE: 6501) has been selected as a Supplier Engagement Leader, with the highest rating of“Supplier Engagement Rating” in 2023 by CDP, an international non-governmental organization in the environmental field. This is the third consecutive year that Hitachi has been selected as a Supplier Engagement Leader.
In 2023, Hitachi was also selected as a CDP A list company*1 (the highest rating) in the area of “Climate Change” in recognition of its leading efforts and highly transparent disclosures.
The CDP’s “Supplier Engagement Rating” evaluates corporate activities within supply chains regarding climate change and selects companies with especially excellent activities for its “Supplier Engagement Leader”. In 2023, 450+ companies were selected as Supplier Engagement Leaders by CDP.
Hitachi has established long-term environmental targets as “Hitachi Environmental Innovation 2050,” with the goal ofthe establishment of a sustainable society. Hitachi has been promoting sustainable management and working specifically to achieve the carbon neutrality of its business sites (factories and offices) by FY2030 and its entire value chain by FY2050. To achieve carbon neutrality throughout its value chain and develop sustainability-minded business activities that lead to the prosperity of both the Hitachi Group and its procurement partners(2), Hitachi has distributedthe Hitachi Group Sustainable Procurement Guidelines and Green Procurement Guidelines(3), requesting all procurement partners to set greenhouse gas reduction targets.
Hitachi drives Social Innovation Business to solve customers’ and society’s challenges and supports people’s quality oflife with data and technology that fosters a sustainable society.
(1) News release dated February 7, 2024: Hitachi Recognized as ‘A List’ on Climate Change for the Third Consecutive Year – www.hitachi.com/New/cnews/month/2024/02/240207c.html (2) Hitachi normally refers to its suppliers (including vendors or providers) as “procurement partners” who build business together on an equal footing. (3) Hitachi Group Sustainable Procurement Guidelines and Green Procurement Guidelines – https://tinyurl.com/88vxmn44
CDP is a global non-profit that runs the world’s environmental disclosure system for companies, cities, states andregions. Founded in 2000 and working with more than 740 financial institutions with over $136 trillion in assets,CDP pioneered using capital markets and corporate procurement to motivate companies to disclose their environmental impacts, and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, safeguard water resources and protect forests.Over 24,000 organizations around the world disclosed data through CDP in 2023, with more than 23,000 companies – including listed companies worth two thirds global market capitalization – and over 1,100 cities, states and regions.Fully TCFD aligned, CDP holds the largest environmental database in the world, and CDP scores are widely used to drive investment and procurement decisions towards a zero carbon, sustainable and resilient economy. CDP is afounding member of the Science Based Targets initiative, We Mean Business Coalition, The Investor Agenda and the Net Zero Asset Managers initiative. Visit cdp.net or follow us @CDP to find out more
About Hitachi, Ltd.
Hitachi drives Social Innovation Business, creating a sustainable society through the use of data and technology. We solve customers’ and society’s challenges with Lumada solutions leveraging IT, OT (Operational Technology) andproducts. Hitachi operates under the business structure of “Digital Systems & Services” – supporting our customers’ digital transformation; “Green Energy & Mobility” – contributing to a decarbonized society through energy and railway systems, and “Connective Industries” – connecting products through digital technology to provide solutions in various industries. Driven by Digital, Green, and Innovation, we aim for growth through co-creation with our customers. The company’s consolidated revenues for fiscal year 2022 (ended March 31, 2023) totaled 10,881.1 billion yen, with 696 consolidated subsidiaries and approximately 320,000 employees worldwide. For more information on Hitachi, please visit the company’s website at https://www.hitachi.com.
Hitachi High-Tech Corporation (“Hitachi High-Tech”) announced the launch of the LS9300AD, a new system for inspecting the front and backside of non-patterned wafer surfaces for particles and defects. In addition to the conventional dark-field laser scattering detection of foreign material and defects, the LS9300AD is equipped with a new DIC (Differential Interference Contrast) inspection function that enables detection of irregular defects, even shallow, low aspect*1 microscopic defects. LS9300AD has the wafer edge grip method*2 and rotating stage currently used in conventional products to enabling front and backside wafer inspection.With the introduction of LS9300AD, Hitachi High-Tech enables reduced inspection costs and improved yield for semiconductor wafers and semiconductor device manufacturers by providing high-sensitivity and high-throughput detection of low-aspect microscopic defects.
Wafer Surface Inspection System LS9300AD
*1Low-aspect: Generally, aspect ratio refers to the aspect ratio of a rectangle. In this release, “low-aspect” refers to irregularities on the surface and backside of the wafer, microscopic defects with an extremely small ratio of depth to width.*2Wafer edge grip method: A method in which the wafer is fixed only at the edge during inspectionNew Product Development Background
Inspection of non-patterned semiconductor wafers’ (before circuit pattern formation) surfaces and backside surfaces has been used in quality assurance during wafers shipment and acceptance, as well as for particles control in various semiconductor device manufacturing processes.Semiconductor wafers manufacturers, use it for quality control to inspect defects and particles that occur during the wafer manufacturing process. In recent years, semiconductor devices have become smaller and more complex, so the size of defects and foreign matter that affect yield in the semiconductor device manufacturing process has become smaller. Due to this, the need for managing all types of defects, including low-aspect microscopic defects on the surface and backside of wafers, is increasing. Responding to the changes in the social environment semiconductor production is expected to increase. To control inspection costs, high-sensitivity and high-throughput inspection equipment is required.
Key New Technologies
In addition to conventional dark-field laser scattering, the LS9300AD has a new DIC optical system that enables both high-sensitivity, high-throughput inspection, and detection of low-aspect microscopic defects.
(1) Built-in DIC Optics
While a dark-field laser irradiates the wafer surface, two beams separated from the DIC laser irradiate two different points on the wafer surface. When there is a difference in height on the wafer surface between the two points irradiated by the DIC laser, the phase contrast of the differential interference signal generated from the difference creates a high-contrast image of wafer surface unevenness. As a result, it is possible to detect the height, area, and position information of low-aspect microscopic defects on the wafer surface, which was difficult to detect using previous techniques.
(2) New DIC-compatible Data Processing System
Along with the DIC optical system, a dark-field laser scattering optical system and a data processing system for defect information obtained through the DIC optical system are installed. This enables simultaneous output of dark-field laser scattering and inspection maps from the DIC optical system, enabling high-sensitivity inspection, even of low-aspect defect data, while maintaining a high inspection speed.
By offering LS9300AD, as well as our metrology systems using electron beam technology and our optical wafer inspection systems, Hitachi High-Tech is working to meet customers’ needs in processing, measurement, and inspection throughout the semiconductor manufacturing process. We will continue to provide innovative and digitally enhanced solutions to our products for the upcoming technology challenges, and create new value together with our customers, as well as contributing to cutting-edge manufacturing.
About Hitachi High-Tech Corporation
Hitachi High-Tech Corporation, headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is engaged in activities in a broad range of fields, including manufacture and sales of clinical analyzers, biotechnology products, and analytical instruments, semiconductor manufacturing equipment and analysis equipment. and providing high value-added solutions in fields of social & industrial infrastructures and mobility, etc.The company’s consolidated revenues for FY 2022 were approx. JPY 674.2 billion. For further information, visit https://www.hitachi-hightech.com/global/en/
Contact: Yuuki MinataniBusiness Planning Dept., Metrology Systems Div., Nano-Technology Solution Business Group, Hitachi High-Tech Corporation https://www.hitachi-hightech.com/global/en/contactus/#sec-1
