The energy market has reached a turning point toward Utility 3.0, a concept in the energy sector aimed at forming an increasingly smarter society by advancing decarbonization, decentralization and digitalization.

Tarrytown, NY, January 17, 2018 - Hitachi America, Ltd. and Hitachi, Ltd. (TSE:6501), today announced that, together with Hitachis group companies, new innovations for realizing Utility 3.0 via the Lumada IoT platform will be introduced at DistribuTECH 2018 (booth #3009).

The energy market has reached a turning point toward Utility 3.0, a concept in the energy sector aimed at forming an increasingly smarter society by advancing decarbonization, decentralization and digitalization. This helps contribute to Society 5.0, a concept which balances the solution to social problems with economic development by the system, fusing together virtual space and physical space. A range of efforts in the energy sector have started to build a new energy society that requires innovations that go beyond industry borders.

At this event, under the theme "Realizing Utility 3.0," Hitachi will demonstrate new innovations centered on various systems, including the distributed energy facilities and power distribution equipment known as Grid Edge, which operate at locations close to consumers, in order to realize Utility 3.0 through the use of Lumada, Hitachis Internet of Things (IoT) Platform. Lumada combines the cultivated operational technology (OT) in the power and energy fields to date and the advanced information technology (IT) represented by data analytics.

Through this exhibition at DistribuTECH 2018, the Hitachi Group will collaborate with customers and partners worldwide in the energy sector. This is one of the core domains of the companys social innovation business, aiming to expand its presence in the global energy solution market, including North America.

Major Exhibits
1. Lumada IoT Platform
Hitachi presents the Lumada IoT Platform, an infrastructure that is working to create new value for the future of society.

2. Grid Security Assessment and Enhancement
Hitachi presents a solution currently active in Poland, which implements advanced Japanese technologies to stabilize systems and to control the output of wind energy in real time, as well as battery energy storage systems. It also presents its smart grid business in the United States, aimed at expanding the introduction of alternative energy and promoting energy saving, as well as the next-generation power grid and smart community business in Slovenia to build a cloud-based integrated distribution management system for small and mid-sized electricity distribution companies.

3. Digital Energy Services
Hitachi presents a program that is carried out together with stadtwerke (a small-scale communal business entity), which is responsible for regional energy and infrastructure services in Germany, to simultaneously allow trade liberalization in response to transaction prices in the electricity market and optimization regarding the operation plans of power facilities. It also presents activities such as the demonstration of Japans large-scale battery energy storage system, demand response promoted in North America and Europe, as well as a Virtual Power Plant using electric vehicles and heat pumps as distributed energy sources on the consumer side, which are integrated and utilized for system operation.

4. Energy Resource Optimization
Hitachi presents the Predictive Diagnosis Solution to assist in productivity improvement by predicting renewable energy output, such as wind energy promoted in North America and India, and by securing facility maintenance and safe operation in which the remaining useful life prognoses are now served.

About Utility 3.0
Utility 3.0 is a concept showing an evolved situation where "utilities," which are responsible for public businesses such as electricity, comprehensively take responsibility for social infrastructures through reform drivers, such as decarbonization, decentralization and digitalization. Utility 1.0 was the period when the electricity industry emerged and supported economic growth under regulatory protections. Utility 2.0 is the period (current) when the electricity system reform initiated power generation and competition in retail.
* Source: Takeuchi, S. (ed.), 2050 in the Energy Industry: Game Change to Utility 3.0, Tokyo: Nikkei Publishing, 2017.

About DistribuTECH
DistribuTECH is a major energy event for exhibiting technologies and products that reflect the latest trends in the global electricity and energy markets, while also offering a variety of conference on the most important future issues facing the electricity industry. This year will mark the 28th annual exhibition, with the expected participation of over 500 companies engaged in the energy infrastructure worldwide. In recent years, DistribuTECH has exhibited many digital solutions that create new value by utilizing IT and IoT technologies, in addition to the latest technologies in the energy power sector, such as smart grids and distributed power generation. Hitachi has participated in the exhibition annually since 2010 with the aim of introducing Hitachis social innovation business and establishing Hitachis presence in North America to utility operators in North America and electricity and energy operators worldwide. For information, please visit http://www.distributech.com/index.html

About Hitachi America, Ltd.
Hitachi America, Ltd. headquartered in Tarrytown, New York, a subsidiary of Hitachi, Ltd., and its subsidiary companies offer a broad range of electronics, power and industrial equipment and services, particle beam therapy technologies, automotive products and consumer electronics with operations throughout the Americas. For more information, visit www.hitachi-america.us. For information on other Hitachi Group companies in the United States, please visit www.hitachi.us.

About Hitachi, Ltd.
Hitachi, Ltd. (TSE: 6501), headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, delivers innovations that answer societys challenges. The companys consolidated revenues for fiscal 2016 (ended March 31, 2017) totaled 9,162.2 billion yen ($81.8 billion). The Hitachi Group is a global leader in the Social Innovation Business, and it has approximately 304,000 employees worldwide. Through collaborative creation, Hitachi is providing solutions to customers in a broad range of sectors, including Power / Energy, Industry / Distribution / Water, Urban Development, and Finance / Government & Public / Healthcare. For more information on Hitachi, please visit the company's website at http://www.hitachi.com.