[Brief translation]
Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara clarified a plan to construct a power plant in Okinotorishima Island and landed there for the first time as the incumbent governor of Tokyo on May 2005. An associate professor at Saga University Yasuyuki Ikegami, who accompanied the governor’s visit, said, "This islet could possibly become a place to disseminate ocean thermal energy conversion technology to the world." Titanium manufacturers show keen interests in the matter. Titanium is harder but lighter than iron and resistant to corrosion; thus, titanium plate heat exchangers are essential for oceanfront power plants. Considering OTEC power plants require 12.4-18 ton of titanium to generate 1MW electricity, the market is quite promising. One of major titanium manufacturers Kobe Steel, Ltd. took a stake in Xenesys Inc., a venture firm holding exclusive patent rights for the ocean thermal energy system.