Oct 01, 2012

Press Release

Panasonic to Establish Fujisawa Town Management Company with its Partner Companies

Through the establishment of the town management company, Panasonic will provide sustainable and smart services and create a town that evolves with the needs of its residents.

Osaka, Japan - Panasonic Corporation, as the primary party in the land readjustment project, has gained approval to go ahead with construction of the Fujisawa Sustainable Smart Town (Fujisawa SST), a pioneering smart city project which has been planned with Fujisawa City and eleven other partner companies, and infrastructure development for the project was started in September 2012.

Panasonic's vision for the 100th anniversary of its founding in 2018 is to become a Green Innovation Company achieving both business growth and environmental contributions. The Fujisawa SST project aims to realize a new type of town development and services through Panasonic's comprehensive solutions focused on day to day life, including its energy management systems. In order to provide the sustainable and smart services and realize the environmental, safety and security targets of the project, Panasonic and other partner companies will establish a town management company in March 2013, provisionally titled the Fujisawa Town Management Company.

The town management company will provide eight smart services (energy, security, mobility, community, healthcare, club services, finance, and asset management) and collaborate with service companies, businesses, local residents, and local government to not only promote the management of the town, but support the development of a community that can create new value in everyday life. In addition, though cooperating with industry, government and academia, and the local residents to create new services, the town management company will run the continually evolving town as a business.

Those companies holding a stake in the town management company, the capital ratio and other issues will be decided when the company is established.

Working with Fujisawa City and its partner companies, Accenture, Mitsui Fudosan Co., Ltd., Mitsui Fudosan Residential Co., Ltd., Mitsui & Co., Ltd., Nihon Sekkei Inc., ORIX Corporation, PanaHome Corporation, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank, Limited, Tokyo Gas Co., Ltd., and with the recent addition of Dentsu Inc. and Nippon Telegraph and Telephone East Corporation, Panasonic aims to open the Fujisawa SST in spring 2014 and create a smart town through the concerted efforts of the local government, businesses and local residents. The Fujisawa SST which has drawn attention from around the world after the announcement of the business concept last May, will serve as a model for the development of similar projects both within Japan and overseas.

Outline of the Fujisawa Sustainable Smart Town Project
Cutting Edge Sustainable and Smart Services

  1. Independent and Symbiotic Energy Management
    In the Fujisawa SST, all detached housing will be equipped with solar modules and storage batteries. In due course, consideration will be given to expanding the concept beyond individual houses that are independent in energy terms to groups of such buildings and, eventually, to the entire area. In the approximately 19 hectare town, solar power generation systems will be installed in residential areas and in public facilities and land, maximizing the utilization of renewable energy in the town, and making the whole town itself the largest individual distributed system in the world1, with a total of approximately 3 MW of solar modules and 3 MW of storage batteries2.
  2. Virtual Gated Town
    Security systems, including cameras and sensor-equipped streets lights, will for the first time in Japan1 be introduced on a large scale into every area of the town, such as at the entrance and exits to the town, in public buildings, in parks and at major crossroads. Residents will be protected 24 hours a day, 365 days a year by this invisible gate, maintaining the security and safety in the town. In addition, the street lights will be lit up in times of emergency, such as power shortages.
  3. Total Eco-Mobility Service
    By offering sharing services for electric cars, EV bikes and electric assist bicycles, home delivery rent-a-car services, and battery stations where charged batteries can be rented, will offer more freedom and comfort in mobility for the residents. In addition, this will be the first practical realization of a battery sharing system for EV bikes and other vehicles in Japan1.
1 As of October 1, 2012 (Based on internal research)
2 Planning to install solar modules and storage batteries in the detached houses, apartments, facilities and public areas.

Environmental, Safety and Security Targets for the Fujisawa SST

A series of numerical targets have been established as milestones and guidelines to lay down the direction for the Fujisawa SST project.

Key Initiatives by Partner Companies (in alphabetical order)

Accenture
  • Provide consulting services to support the formation of the Fujisawa SST master plan and the town management company's business plan
  • Provide technology consulting support of Fujisawa SST residential Web portal platform design
  • Conduct feasibility studies for regional expansion and coordination of public/private partnership opportunities of smart community projects
  • Leverage Accenture's technology, consulting and project management capabilities in nearly 70 smart grid and smart city projects to support the global expansion of the Fujisawa model
Dentsu Inc.
  • Cooperates and supports in developing community services
  • Cooperates and supports in developing energy services
  • Cooperates and supports in developing health care services
  • Cooperates and supports in town management services
  • Studies capital investment in the town management company including human resources collaboration
  • Considers planning and co-hosting of various events using site centers
Mitsui Fudosan Group (Mitsui Fudosan Co., Ltd, Mitsui Fudosan Residential Co., Ltd.)
  • Develops a platform for land readjustment projects, etc.
  • Participates in residential land subdivision
  • Formulates town planning / design / development rules
  • Examines participation in the town management company for service businesses aimed at town maintenance management
  • Cooperates with formulation of technical standards for virtually CO2-free housing
Mitsui & Co., Ltd.
  • Real estate subdivision
  • Examines participation in development of detached and apartment complex housing in an advanced town layout
  • Participates in the town management company
  • Examines capital participation in the town management company and contents of service businesses to be provided to the town / households (including health care and smart community solar system)
Nihon Sekkei, Inc.
  • Supports architecture and energy planning and design for equipment such as commercial and welfare facilities, life support facilities and smart community solar system
  • Supports planning and design for landscaping of life support facilities and smart community solar system facility
  • Supports drawing out guidelines etc.
  • Studies capital investment in the town management company
Nippon Telegraph and Telephone East Corporation
  • Provides a communications platform for town services
  • Studies networking of all houses as the platform for the smart community
  • Introduces outdoor WiFi antennas in community spaces
    (Available free for a certain amount of time as an information station, free if any emergencies occur)
  • Provides a community platform in the town
  • Examines a community platform joining together residents, the town and local information providers (Simple and timely utilization of the information wanted)
ORIX Corporation
  • Provides seamless services for suburban car sharing with EVs and HVs and home delivery rental cars to give high convenience and environmental contributions to Fujisawa SST and the local community
  • Studies specifics of total mobility services based on car rental agencies (including electric motorcycles and electric assist bicycles, etc.)
PanaHome Corporation
  • Develops a platform for land readjustment projects etc.
  • Participates in building and residential land subdivision
  • Formulates town planning / design / development rules
  • Examines participation in the town management company for service businesses aimed at town maintenance management
  • Formulates technical standards for virtually CO2-free housing
Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank, Limited
  • Examines systems for Fujisawa smart eco point town cards
  • Plans specific Fujisawa SST environmentally-conscious mortgages
  • Designs smart town evaluation indicators (environmental real estate values)
  • Provides leasing and financing schemes
  • Participates in the town management company
Tokyo Gas Co., Ltd.
  • Introduces the latest Ene Farm household fuel cells
    - Achieves CO2 and energy savings by promoting introduction of Ene Farms to detached and apartment complex housing
    - Promotes increasing added value such as independent power generation in the event of power failure and visualization of energy production and consumption collaborating with HEMS, solar and storage batteries
  • Introduces gas cogeneration system and works on energy surface utilization
    - Realizes self-reliance improvement in the event of disaster and energy and CO2 savings by effective usage of power generation and the heat generated
    - Studies energy interchange within multiple town blocks aiming for disaster-resistant town development and further low-carbon emission

Reference: Plan Overview of Fujisawa SST Project

Plan Overview
Development Address 4-1, 6-chome, Tsujido-motomachi, Fujisawa City, Kanagawa Prefecture
Land Area Approximately 19 ha
Planned Land Use Approximately 1,000 residential homes/commercial facilities/public facilities
Planned Population Approximately 3,000 people
Schedule Open the town in spring 2014
Total Project Cost Approximately 60 billion yen

About Panasonic

Panasonic Corporation is a worldwide leader in the development and manufacture of electronic products in three business fields, consumer, components & devices, and solutions. Based in Osaka, Japan, the company recorded consolidated net sales of 7.85 trillion yen for the year ended March 31, 2012. Panasonic's stock is listed on the Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya and New York (NYSE:PC) Stock Exchanges. The company has the vision of becoming the No. 1 Green Innovation Company in the Electronics Industry by the 100th year of its founding in 2018. For more information on Panasonic, its brand and commitment to sustainability, visit the company's website at http://panasonic.net/.

Media Contacts:

Tokyo PR Office
Panasonic Corporation
Tel: +81-(0)3-3574-5664 Fax: +81-(0)3-3574-5699
Panasonic News Bureau
Tel: +81-(0)3-3542-6205 Fax: +81-(0)3-3542-9018

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