Mitsubishi Heavy Industries

A leading Japanese comprehensive heavy industry company and a core Mitsubishi Group affiliate active in energy, defense, aerospace, shipbuilding, and other fields.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries

Overview

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI; 미쓰비시 중공업) is a leading comprehensive heavy industry company in Japan and a core affiliate of the Mitsubishi Group. It conducts business across a wide range of fields, including energy, defense, aerospace, shipbuilding, and industrial machinery, and is regarded as one of the companies that form the foundation of Japanese industry. As of 2024, amid the global energy transition and rising defense spending, it is reorganizing its business portfolio.

Key Details

History and Background

The origins of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries begin in 1884 when Mitsubishi Shokai acquired the Nagasaki Shipyard. It was later established as Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. in 1934, and after reorganization following World War II, it took its current form. In 2017, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and the former Mitsubishi Heavy Industries merged, establishing an integrated operating structure. Its headquarters are in Tokyo, and it has major production bases in Nagasaki, Kobe, Yokohama, and other locations.

Business Areas

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries operates its business in four main segments: energy, defense and aerospace, shipbuilding and marine, and industrial machinery.

Energy segment: It provides gas turbines, steam turbines, nuclear power generation facilities, and hydrogen and ammonia combustion technologies. In particular, it is a global leader in the large gas turbine market and supplies total solutions that include power plant construction and maintenance services.
Defense and aerospace segment: As a major defense contractor for Japan's Ministry of Defense, it produces fighter aircraft, missiles, helicopters, satellites, and other equipment. It also manufactures commercial aircraft components in cooperation with Boeing, Airbus, and others.
Shipbuilding and marine segment: It builds LNG carriers, offshore plants, submarines, and other vessels, and the Nagasaki Shipyard is a historic shipbuilding base.
Industrial machinery segment: It supplies machine tools, refrigeration and heating/cooling equipment, logistics systems, and other products.

Business Performance and Global Expansion

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries recorded revenue of approximately 4.5 trillion yen in fiscal 2023, and its order backlog is also steadily increasing. It is expanding its global business by establishing local subsidiaries in Asia, North America, Europe, and other regions. In particular, orders for power generation equipment are active in India and Southeast Asia, and it is also strengthening international cooperation to build a hydrogen value chain. In the defense segment, it is also exploring the possibility of joint development with overseas partners in line with the Japanese government's policy of easing defense equipment exports.

Recent Trends (2024-2025)

Since 2024, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries has been moving along two axes: decarbonization technologies and defense industry expansion. First, in the energy segment, it is accelerating the development of hydrogen- and ammonia-only gas turbines and conducting demonstration tests with the aim of commercialization in 2025. In addition, in line with the Japanese government's GX (Green Transformation) policy, it is participating in the restart of nuclear power plants and the development of next-generation reactors.

In the defense industry, orders for fighter aircraft, missiles, unmanned aircraft, and other equipment are expected to increase in line with Japan's increase in defense spending (targeting 2% of GDP by 2027). In 2024, it is expanding international joint development, including participation in the next-generation fighter development project (GCAP) in cooperation with Japan's Ministry of Defense. In the aerospace field, it signed a component supply contract for the Boeing 777X and is also strengthening cooperation with Airbus.

In the shipbuilding segment, it is focusing on the development of LNG- and methanol-powered ships in response to growing demand for eco-friendly ships, and aims to commercialize ammonia-fueled ships by 2025. It is also providing smart factory solutions through digital transformation and enhancing the competitiveness of its industrial machinery segment.

In this way, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is transforming from a traditional heavy industry company into a key player in energy transition and the defense industry, and it appears likely to continue investments for sustainable growth after 2025 as well.