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Sharp History

2008 : Aiming to Become the World's Solar Company

Introduction of Executive Officer System

To expand the scale of business and fortify business operations, efficient management systems and speedy decision-making are essential. That is why Sharp decided to make an appropriate number of Directors on the Board of Directors and to introduce the executive officer system, which enables the company to further strengthen its operational structure, and clarify the operational responsibility of each Executive Officer.

Agreement Signed on Mega Solar Power Generation Plan for Sakai City Waterfront

Sakai City, Kansai Electric Power Co., Inc. (Kansai Electric), and Sharp agreed to cooperate on the Sakai City Waterfront Mega Solar Power Generation Plan in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. Under the plan, mega solar power generation is scheduled for two locations. Kansai Electric will build the Sakai No. 7-3 District Solar Power Generation Plant (tentative name) on an industrial-waste landfill in Nishi Ward, Sakai City. And Sharp and the Kansai Electric Group will install the Sakai Manufacturing Complex Solar Power Generation Facilities (tentative name) on the rooftops of buildings occupied by Sharp and other companies in the complex.

This announcement of a specific plan for large-scale solar power generation in Japan attracted considerable attention.

Verified: Higher Concentrations of Plasmacluster Ions® Remove 99.9% of Airborne H5N1 Avian Influenza ("Bird Flu") Virus

Sharp, working in collaboration with Retroscreen Virology Ltd. founded by Professor John S. Oxford, a world authority on virology from the University of London in the UK, demonstrated that Plasmacluster Ions in a 1 m3-volume box at a concentration of approximately 50,000 ions/cm3 remove 99.9% of the airborne H5N1 avian influenza virus.

  • Note : Plasmacluster and Plasmacluster Ion are trademarks of Sharp Corporation.

Sharp Releases Unique 21st-Century Health and Environmental Products

Sharp introduced into the Japanese market new 21st-century health and environmental products incorporating unique features that differ from those of conventional home appliances. Those products included Plasmacluster Ion® generators, humidifying air purifiers, refrigerators, front-loading washer/dryers, and LED lighting equipped with Sharp's one-of-a-kind health and environmental Plasmacluster Ion technology, and the Superheated Steam Oven featuring superheated steam technology that helps combat lifestyle-related diseases through healthy cooking.

  • Note : Plasmacluster and Plasmacluster Ion are trademarks of Sharp Corporation.

Sharp Releases Next-Generation X Series AQUOS LCD TVs

Sharp announced its new X Series AQUOS LCD TVs to the world at the following trade shows: CEATEC Japan 2008 (in Makuhari), CEDIA Expo 2008 (in the US), and IFA 2008 (in Germany). The X Series TVs use Sharp's newly developed next-generation Mega Advanced Super View LCD and boast performance befitting the name "next-generation LCD TV."

The result of incorporating Sharp's one-of-a-kind LCD technologies into its cutting-edge Advanced Super View LCD, the Mega Advanced Super View LCD offers amazingly superb picture quality, an innovative thin-profile design, and outstanding environmental performance. This new LCD boasts "mega-contrast"—a TV contrast of more than 1,000,000:1*1—for deep, rich blacks, expands the reproducible color gamut to 150%*2 of the NTSC color space, and enables a display that is only 2.28 cm thick at its thinnest part. And for optimal sound quality, X Series models incorporate Sharp's original 1-Bit digital amp and a thin-design speaker system jointly developed by Sharp and Pioneer Corporation.

  • *1:The maximum contrast level a TV set is capable of achieving (the ratio of maximum screen brightness for an all-white signal to the minimum screen brightness with an all-black signal; in this case, 1,000,000:1 with AV position set to "Dynamic').
  • *2:According to the CIE1976 UCS chromaticity diagram.

Sharp Adds New Production Line for 2nd-Generation Thin-Film Solar Cells That Use Large Glass Substrates

Sharp completed installation at its Katsuragi Plant of a new second-generation thin-film solar cell production line that will use large glass substrates measuring 1,000 x 1,400 mm, equivalent to 2.7 times the area of conventional substrates (560 x 925 mm), and began mass production in October 2008. Solar modules fabricated using the second-generation thin-film solar cells manufactured on this new production line feature industry-leading 9% module conversion efficiency and a high 128-W power output. Sharp will use the know-how gained from this production line in future solar developments around the world.

Sharp Releases AQUOS DX Series, the World's First LCD TVs with Built-In Blu-ray Disc Recorder

Sharp introduced into the Japanese market the AQUOS DX Series, the world's first* LCD TVs equipped with Blu-ray Disc recorder. Consumers can now experience a new type of TV entertainment that allows them to watch TV, play Blu-ray Discs and DVDs, and record in high definition on Blu-ray Discs—all with a single unit. The all-in-one design eliminates the need for complicated connecting cables, and the single remote control achieves an unprecedented level of smooth, easy operability.

  • * As of October 15, 2008 for digital HD LCD TVs with built-in Blu-ray Disc recorder.

Sharp Signs Agreement with Italian Power Company Enel for Joint Venture in Solar Power Generation Business and Production of Thin-Film Solar Cells

Sharp and Italy's largest power company, Enel SpA (Enel), agreed to establish a joint venture in the spring of 2009 to operate as an independent power producer (IPP*). As such, they will develop a number of solar power plants with a total capacity of 189 MW by the end of 2012.

The solar power plants will be set up mainly in southern Italy and will utilize thin-film solar cells. Sharp and Enel are looking into expanding their IPP business to cover countries of the Mediterranean region other than Italy in the future.

Regarding the production of thin-film solar cells, plans call for Sharp, Enel, and a third European manufacturing company to construct a thin-film solar cell plant in Italy with the potential to expand annual production capacity to around 1 GW in the future. The initial phase of development will put in place a production system having an annual capacity of 480 MW, with the aim of starting operations around the middle of 2010.

  • * An Independent Power Producer (IPP) owns facilities to generate electric power for sale to utilities and end users.

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