Sanyo

Green is good (in Japan)

August 10th

Whatever the merits or otherwise of the practical implementations of Japanese environmental awareness (e.g. my local neighborhood's definition of "burnable" trash, which includes plastic that produces noxious fumes when incinerated), anything with "eco" in its name or description immediately has a stronger sales position than anything without. Witness the "eco-point" system, whereby anyone trading in their old "clunker" air-conditioner, fridge or TV for a new "eco" model would collect "eco points". Sales of such items shot up and people happily collected their "eco points".

Tokyo Gas & Sanyo Start Residential FC Deployment

July 9th

A joint venture between Tokyo Gas and Sanyo Electric Cell have produced an affordable residential fuel cell application. The device retails for ~$36,000 (US) for a single install, and currently the Japanese govt. is providing a $14,600 (US) subsidy to purchase these devices. Putting the price nearer to $20,000 (US.) The device can produce .3kw up to 1kW, much less than would be required for a western house, but certainly usable for a typical Japanese home. ATR will try to find a installation and speak to the residents about performance.