Environmental Activities

Operating Household Fuel Cell Cogeneration System in "Zero Emission House" located at Hokkaido Toyako Summit

Panasonic, the leading brand by which Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. is known, will operate Household Fuel Cell Cogeneration System for a foot bath of "Zero Emission House" ^*1 and present world-leading cutting-edge technology to visitors. The House will be placed adjacent to the International Media Center (IMC) of the Hokkaido Toyako Summit, which will be held from July 7 to 9, 2008.

While an international community regards a global warming issue as one of the most important challenges for human beings, an amount of energy consumption from the household sector (home appliances, gas/oil using equipment, residential building, etc.) has been increasing year by year. In light of this, Panasonic has actively promoted the development of energy-efficient products based on one of our business visions, "Coexistence with the Global Environment." As one of our initiatives to stop global warming prevention, we have been working on R&D of the polymer electrolyte fuel cell cogeneration system to create a next-generation energy supplying system contributing to reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, with support from Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO), and the New Energy Foundation (NEF). As a result, Panasonic announced the development of the new system which realizes high power generation efficiency and environmental performance on April 14, and in June, we started mass-production of this system at Kusatsu site of Matsushita Home Appliances Group located in Shiga Prefecture, Japan. Through these processes, we are aiming for the release of this product to general users in fiscal 2010 as a new environmental business segment.

Panasonic fully supports the Hokaido Toyako Summit by disseminating environmental and energy technologies to the world, as well as operating the Household Fuel Cell Cogeneration System.

*1 The system will generate and supplies part of electricity necessary for lightings of the “Zero Emission House” and waste heat will be used to heat water for the foot bath.

---- models(as of -- --, ----)