Fujitsu Group's First Geothermal Heat Extraction System Deployed at Nagano Plant

Tokyo, January 04, 2012

Fujitsu today announced the first deployment within the Fujitsu Group of a geothermal heat extraction system at its Nagano Plant. The new system will begin operations starting in January 2012.

The new system employs heat extraction pipes that have been embedded in the ground beneath the plant. Geothermal heat extracted from these pipes is used as a heat source to power water heater equipment for air conditioners used in clean rooms and other 24/7 facilities. By leveraging geothermal heat, which excels in terms of its stability and cost, Fujitsu expects to cut its annual fuel consumption by roughly 47kL (crude oil equivalent) and annual CO2 emissions by roughly 120 tons compared to the existing system.

In the future, after verifying the effectiveness of the new system and collecting operational know-how, Fujitsu will explore lateral application of the system to other Fujitsu Group locations.

As part of the Fujitsu Group Environmental Protection Program (Stage VI)⁽¹⁾, the Fujitsu Group promotes the increased use of renewable energy, and to date, the company has deployed renewable energy generation such as with solar power at its Tatebayashi datacenter, production facilities in Kawasaki and other sites. In an effort to save energy, reduce CO2 emissions, and collect operational know-how, Fujitsu Limited collaborated with Fujitsu Facilities⁽²⁾, which oversees the control and operation of Fujitsu's facilities, to deploy a stable and cost-efficient geothermal heat extraction system at the Nagano Plant, which is primarily used for the manufacture and development of Fujitsu's print boards. Until now, natural energy utilization within the Fujitsu Group has been focused on office spaces. The new system deployment, however, will be the Fujitsu Group's first trial involving the use of natural energy to power water heater equipment for air conditioners at a manufacturing plant's clean rooms.

About the Geothermal Heat Extraction System

The new system employs 31 heat extraction pipes embedded in the ground beneath roads on the plant site to form a geothermal heat exchanger. The extracted geothermal heat is used as a heat source via a heat pump/chiller⁽³⁾ to generate hot water, which powers water heater equipment for air conditioners that run in clean rooms and other 24/7 facilities. Instead of directly utilizing groundwater as a heat source for the hot water, the new system is unique in that it only uses geothermal heat. In addition, by applying the latest corrugated coaxial double piping techniques, the technology features superior heat extraction performance and resistance to earthquake damage by the use of highly flexible materials.

Compared to generating hot water via its existing gas boiler system, deploying the geothermal heat extraction system will enable Fujitsu to reduce annual fuel consumption by roughly 47kL and annual CO2 emissions by roughly 120 tons.

Future Development

In the future, after verifying the effectiveness of the new system and collecting operational know-how, the company will expand the deployment of the geothermal heat extraction system at its Nagano Plant and explore lateral application of the system, promoting its use at other Fujitsu Group locations. In addition, Fujitsu will continue to pursue the use of solar power and other kinds of renewable energy.