Mitsubishi Power MEGAMIE, 210 kW solid oxide and micro gas turbine hybrid

Mitsubishi's hybrid solid oxide and micro gas turbine unit, withdrawn from the catalogue with nine known installations

Mitsubishi Power MEGAMIE, 210 kW solid oxide and micro gas turbine hybrid is one of 12 fuel cells tracked in the SecondWatt catalogue, each with specifications, lead times and indicative secondary-market pricing.

Mitsubishi Power MEGAMIE dossier: 210 kW solid oxide and micro gas turbine hybrid at 53% efficiency, catalogue withdrawal, known fleet and inspection guidance.

MEGAMIE is a pressurised hybrid that combines solid oxide fuel cell stacks operating at roughly 900 degrees C with a micro gas turbine, so the fuel cell generates from reformed city gas and the turbine generates from the post-process stream. Three corrections are needed on the backlog entry. The manufacturer is Mitsubishi Power, formerly Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems, with catalogues carrying Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Energy Systems. The published net electrical output is 210 kW rather than the 250 kW the marketing name implies, and the product has been withdrawn from the catalogue. The withdrawal rests on convergent absence rather than a notice, and the reasoning belongs on the record. MEGAMIE is not named on the Mitsubishi Power solid oxide product page in either English or Japanese, does not appear anywhere in MHI Report 2025, and its last product releases date to 2018 through 2020. The company's solid oxide effort was redirected to electrolysis in April 2024 with a 400 kW test module at Takasago Hydrogen Park. No formal discontinuation date has been published. The specifications that survive are strong on efficiency and disqualifying on flexibility. Electrical efficiency is 53% LHV on the datasheet, with total efficiency of 73% LHV on hot water recovery or 65% with steam, NOx at 15 ppm or less at 16% oxygen, SOx below detection, dimensions of 3.2 by 11.4 by 3.3 metres and a weight of 33 tonnes. Cold start takes 24 hours and hot start 2 hours, which rules the machine out of most data center roles.

Why it matters

A 24-hour cold start is the specification that settles what this machine is for. It is a baseload cogeneration asset rather than a standby or fast-response one, and no amount of efficiency compensates for that in a data center context. Publishing the start time alongside the 53% efficiency figure is what stops the record reading as a competitive option.

Who buys it

Only the operators of the known installed base, which totals nine units under 2 MW across Kyushu University, Toyota, NGK Spark Plug, Hazama Ando and a single overseas installation at GWI in Essen. There is no new-buyer path, because the product is not in the catalogue and no successor exists at this rating.

Role in the data center

None. The 24-hour cold start makes this a baseload cogeneration machine for industrial and institutional hosts rather than a data center asset.

Key specifications

Technical summary

Technology: solid oxide stacks at about 900 degrees C hybridised with a micro gas turbine Rated electrical output: 210 kW net (marketing describes a 250 kW class) Electrical efficiency: 53% LHV on the datasheet; the handbook states 55% and is unreconciled Total efficiency: 73% LHV with hot water recovery; 65% LHV with steam recovery Heat output: 15 tonnes per hour of hot water, or 80 kg per hour of steam Fuel: city gas 13A and liquefied natural gas rated; hydrogen, biogas, propane and butane listed Emissions: NOx 15 ppm or less at 16% oxygen; SOx below 0.1 ppm and below detection limit Dimensions: 3.2 m wide x 11.4 m long x 3.3 m high; 33 tonnes; about 36.5 square metres Noise: 70 dBA or less at 1 m; grid parallel with island mode noted Start time: 24 hours from cold, 2 hours from hot

Pricing and availability

Trend: up Lead time, new: Not offered.

Lifecycle and maintenance

Solid oxide stacks are the consumable and the manufacturer controls them. Bloom reports a fleet of more than 20,000 fuel cell modules deployed since 2009, with modules from 2014 and 2015 showing a median recorded life of 4.9 years, more than 900 running past 5 years and a maximum to date of 7.7. Replacement is a manufacturer operation performed on site in under an hour, after which title to the removed module passes back to the manufacturer and the hardware goes to its own repair and overhaul centre. Contracted service runs 5 to 20 years and covers filter and adsorbent replacement alongside periodic fuel cell replacement, and the dollar rate per kilowatt is redacted in every public filing reviewed.

Common failure points

• Stack degradation — Cumulative electrical efficiency falls from 65% toward 53% LHV across module life
• Title reversion on replaced modules — Every swapped fuel cell module reverts to the maker by contract, so a used unit may be missing its stacks
• Thermal cycling — High-temperature ceramic stacks tolerate a limited number of shutdowns and no maker publishes an allowance
• Sulfur and siloxane contamination — Sulfur deactivates catalysts and siloxanes deposit silica across anode surfaces
• Certification lapse — A California siting certification issued to the maker expires on a schedule the buyer does not control
• Service dependency — Third-party service is contractually barred on financed fleets and only the maker supplies stacks

Inspection checklist

Chain of title — establish whether the seller holds title or a project company does; Bloom contracts carry a right of first refusal at section 3.6 Repurchase right — get a written waiver; the contractual repurchase value is the greater of fair market value or 100% of purchase price reduced annually Module inventory — confirm which fuel cell modules are physically present; replaced modules revert to the maker under section 4.04 Measured heat rate — test against the 7,550 Btu/kWh minimum efficiency level in Bloom's own contracts and the 5,811-7,127 datasheet band Efficiency band — published cumulative efficiency runs 65% down to 53% LHV, so a mid-life unit is not a 65% machine Module age — Bloom reports a median recorded module life of 4.9 years and a maximum of 7.7 across more than 20,000 modules Thermal cycle count — the DOE lists limited shutdowns as an explicit challenge for stacks running at 500-1,000 degrees C, and no maker publishes an allowance Fuel quality history — total sulfurs above 5,000 ppbV average or H2S above 1,000 ppbV average exceed the published natural gas limit Siloxane exposure — 10 ppm of D5 caused total solid oxide failure in 30 hours at 1,000 degrees C in the Argonne fuel quality work Ammonia and halogens — the natural gas specification limits are 40 ppmV ammonia and 0.28 micrograms per cubic metre halogens Regulatory status — confirm a live CARB executive order covers the exact model; DG-044 for the ES-5 lapsed on 2026-03-27 Service entitlement — get a written service quotation first; third-party service is barred at section 10.01 of the standard agreement Operating data — request the remote monitoring history, which the maker holds under a 5 to 20 year service term Site scope — gas polishing media, wastewater and permitting sit outside maker scope, and cleanup ran about 1.8 cents per kWh in the Argonne 300 kW case Removal and rigging — a 325 kW unit runs 28,745 lb across 29 ft 5 in, so verify crane access and transport width

Regional notes

Japanese domestic product rated on city gas 13A, with a single documented overseas installation contracted through Mitsubishi Power Europe GmbH for GWI in Essen in October 2020. No certification marks are listed on any MEGAMIE document.