Mr. Tateishi (hereafter, all answers will be from Mr. Tateishi): It was around October 2020 that I started talking with the management members of the fuel cell business division about our decarbonization efforts. Our company possesses a wide range of hydrogen-related products and technologies, but we faced Issue in each of them pursuing business and technological development independently. We identified RE100 (Note 2) as a way to bring these together and solve social Issue, and began working on business development.
(Note 2) An international initiative that aims for companies to cover 100% of the electricity used in their operations with renewable Energy.

"H2 KIBOU FIELD" is a RE100 solution demonstration facility that uses a combination of pure hydrogen fuel cells and solar cells to generate electricity in-house, covering 100% of the Energy consumed in business activity with renewable Energy. This is the world's first attempt to demonstrate RE100 in a factory that fully utilizes hydrogen. Utilizing the experience and know-how gained from "H2 KIBOU FIELD," we will support our customers in their efforts to achieve RE100 through our "RE100 Solutions."

By combining pure hydrogen fuel cells, solar cells, and storage batteries, the H2 KIBOU FIELD has succeeded in generating electricity stably using renewable Energy. Natural Energy sources such as solar and wind power fluctuate. Customer demand also fluctuates depending on business activity, but the inclusion of storage batteries and fuel cells ensures a stable supply of electricity. The field has been operating stably for about a year since its launch in April 2022, and has attracted attention from a wide variety of industries both in Japan and overseas, with customers aiming to achieve RE100 and government officials from Japan and abroad coming to inspect the field.

Panasonic Corporation primarily operates a business selling products, but when it comes to commercializing RE100, it is necessary to turn it into a solution, from proposal to design and construction, operation and maintenance, and improvement. Naturally, in the proposal phase, it is necessary to visualize the customer's CO2 emission amount. To achieve this, we thought that we should collaborate with other companies rather than completing the process ourselves. That was in March 2021, when I happened to come across Zeroboard in a newspaper article and contacted them.

Representative Tokeiji san shared some impressive words with us. One of the things that really resonated with us was, "Carbon neutrality is not just about one company; it requires reducing CO2 emission amount across the entire supply chain. That's why we're thinking of a Service that can reduce CO2 emission amount for not only large companies but also small and medium-sized enterprises." After that, as we continued to develop our business, we introduced " zeroboard" in February 2022.

It's a simple system, so it's easy to get started with, and I get the impression that anyone can start using it easily. It's not a complicated screen, and you can intuitively understand what happens next when you press this. Therefore, I think it's a system that is easy to use even for people who have multiple responsibilities.

In order to make the calculations, it is difficult to collect the data to be entered from the factory, accounting department, and many other related departments, but Zeroboard has been acting as a consultant, and has been giving us guidance on how to explain things to each department so that things can proceed smoothly, so we are making good progress without any problems. We are very grateful for their kind consideration.

As a result of this learning, we are now able to explain this to our factories and customers, which is very meaningful. This accumulation of efforts will lead to reducing CO2 emission amount throughout the entire supply chain.

We were able to visualize CO2 emission amount on a factory-by-factory basis. Calculations are generally done on a business-by-business basis, but when we asked them if we wanted to do this on a factory-by-factory basis, they worked with us, even though this was an area where standards had not yet been established, and we were able to visualize CO2 emissions on a factory-by-factory basis. This is a major achievement. As a result, the factory manager and other relevant personnel are now able to understand where the most CO2 is being emitted, and it has become clear where countermeasures should be prioritized.

In the Manufacturing industry, factories are at the center of the supply chain. By making things visible, we can reduce CO2 emission amount in the small details that would be overlooked if we were to roughly calculate them on a business unit basis. It is difficult to pay attention to the details on-site, but we believe that this is necessary because we will not be able to achieve zero CO2 emission amount without tackling the issue, and we are moving forward with this initiative.

Japan is aiming to realize a hydrogen society in order to achieve carbon zero by 2050. Japan is one of the world's Top countries in terms of technology for utilizing hydrogen in the field of fuel cells. Japan is also technologically leading in the field of energy conservation, and this technology is being deployed overseas, including in Europe. Toward the realization of a carbon-neutral society through hydrogen, we are working in cooperation with the government, including creating rules.

To achieve this, we will first visualize our own company's CO2 emission amount and work to reduce them. We will then turn this into a solution and offer it to our customers. With the introduction of "zeroboard," we now have a case study, which allows us to present the results of our own factories and make proposals tailored to our customers' circumstances. It will take about a year for the "RE100 Solution" to be operational at our customers' sites, but positive discussions are underway, mainly in the Manufacturing industry.

When proposing "RE100 Solutions," we consider "zeroboard" to be part of the package. We are proposing assistance and improvements, including visualization, as a solution, so we would like to introduce the Zeroboard Service as well.

On the other hand, I would be happy if our solutions could be of use to Zeroboard's customers. I also hope that a synergistic effect will help us build a customer base. Our "RE100 solution" is just one solution toward carbon neutrality. It is necessary to combine solutions that various companies and local governments are working on, and I find it appealing that Zeroboard is working on this aspect.

My vision for the future is for the entire supply chain to be connected, including not only large companies but also small and medium-sized enterprises, with "zeroboard" at the center. I see Zeroboard as a Company at the center of the supply chain. I hope that you will play a role in creating a Community that can help us create business connections and expand value.

I was surprised to see that what I envisioned has already been started. I think such a Community is essential to promoting decarbonization. Voluntary efforts have already been launched within Panasonic Corporation.