IFA 2012: Panasonic confirms Skolkovo Smart City project

Panasonic is stepping up its involvement in Smart City construction. The brand, which is on a drive to become the world's greenest technology company by 2018, is a lead partner on a massive new Smart City project in Skolkovo, Russia. Along with Ernst & Young, Cisco and the Russian Academy of Science, it says it will create the largest sustainable urban destination in Europe. Panasonic will supply heat pumps, Photovoltaic solar panels and lithium ion batteries to create and store electricity, amongst other connected lifestyle technologies.

Tha announcement, which was made at IFA 2012, follows on from Panasonic's leading role in the construction of Japan's first Smart City in Fujisawa, west of Tokyo. The Fujisawa Sustainable Smart Town (SST) project has been designed to produce 70 percent fewer CO2 emissions than a comparable city in 1990, will be completed in 2014. The brand is also involved in test bed project for energy saving and storage in Singapore. Laurent Abadie, Panasonic's European boss (pictured above) says that these energy efficient constructions projects are key to its long-term Eco-Smart ambitions.

Skolkovo Smart City will cover 400 hectares and become a home to 31,000 residents. The massive endeavour will include the creation of the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology, plus educational institutions, residential areas, infrastructure and retail outlets. Completion is expected by 2015.

While Panasonic didn't announce any new TV ranges at IFA, it did unveil a 60-inch version of its affordable ET5 LED TV screen, and demonstrated a spectacular 145-inch 8K display, produced in association with Japanese state broadcaster NHK. Also on its booth was a 103-inch autostereoscopic 3D plasma prototype; this looked surprisingly effective, however the company says it expects it to find a role in commercial, rather than residential applications.

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