Panasonic cooperates with Grab Vietnam to provide nanoe™ X air quality solutions on 150 GrabCar Medical vehicles

Hochiminh City, September 07 2021 – Panasonic supports 150 nanoe^TM X generators on 150 GrabCar Medical vehicles. The cooperation program is part of the joint efforts of Panasonic and Grab to join hands with the Government and the society in the prevention of the Covid-19 epidemic. 150 GrabCar Medical vehicles are installed with nanoe^TM X generators, including 110 vehicles in HCMC and 40 vehicles in Hanoi, with the aim of improving air quality, safety and comfort in transporting service for COVID-19 patients who have recovered to come back home from hospitals, medical staff, and Grab driver partners.

GrabCar Medical fleet has been deployed by Grab Vietnam in Ho Chi Minh City from August 20, 2021 to transport medical staff (doctors, nurses, nursing staff, service staff, etc.) home for free from the hospital, as well as COVID-19 patients who have recovered from the disease, been allowed to be discharged to their residential places, while fulfilling some urgent requirements in the city government's duty of epidemic prevention. As of September 5, 2021, GrabCar Medical service has carried out more than 3,000 free rides to safely bring people and medical staff home.

With the support of nanoe^TM X technology developed by Panasonic in Japan since 1997, which helps improve air quality, Panasonic and Grab aim to create a more comfortable and safer mobile space.

nanoe™ X is an electrostatic atomization technology, that collects invisible moisture in the air and applies a high voltage to it to produce “hydroxyl radicals contained in water”. Hydroxyl radicals inhibit the growth of pollutants such as bacteria and viruses. They are characterized by being strongly oxidative and highly reactive, hence a short life span. However, the “hydroxyl radicals contained in water” was verified to have a longer lifespan and disperse across a wider area. nanoe™ X is used in home appliances such as air purifiers, air conditioners, washing machines, and refrigerators, as well as in automobiles, trains, and commercial air-conditioning equipment because of its various effects such as deodorization^*1 inhibition of bacteria^*2 and allergens^*3 Nanoe™ X has an inhibitory effect on both airborne and adhered substances. Especially, Texcell^*4 verified the inhibitory effect of the nanoe™ X technology with the benefits of hydroxyl radicals^*5 on the novel coronavirus. The tests were carried out in a closed laboratory environment and were not designed to assess its efficacy in uncontrolled living spaces.

The Panasonic nanoe™ X generator is powered by a USB port and is compact enough to fit in a car cup holder, making it easy to generate nanoe™ X to clean the air inside the car.

In earlier efforts, Panasonic cooperated with Grab in a project to provide 2,000 nanoe™ X generators free of charge in 2,000 GrabCar Premium vehicles in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, in the context of increasing social interest and demand for comprehensive clean air quality. This activity is part of a regional cooperation implemented in 5 major cities - Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City where Panasonic has provided total 5,500 nanoe™ X generators free of charge to be installed on 5,500 Grab premium Cars.

In the automotive sector as well as in various areas of our lives and society, including home appliances, and housing-related fields, to deliver a healthy lifestyle, Panasonic pursues the realization of "QUALITY AIR FOR LIFE" with the application of nanoe™ technology in a variety of total air solutions.

The cooperation with Grab is one of Panasonic's series of activities on the eve of the 50th anniversary of Panasonic's official operation in Vietnam (1971 - 2021). Panasonic has declared its business direction for the next 50 years, becoming a Total Wellness Solutions Providing Company, pioneering in human-oriented technology trends, at the same time, proposing solutions to urgent social problems, testifying Panasonic's efforts to realize its mission of bringing a healthy, safe and comfortable life to Vietnamese consumers.

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 Appendix: Notes on nanoe^TM X
*¹: The following effects have been verified after about 12 minutes in a space of approximately 23 m³. However, this is not the result of measurement in actual use space.
●Testing organisation: Product Analysis Center, Panasonic Corporation ●Test method: verified using the six-level odour intensity scale method in an approximately 23 m³ sized test room. ●Deodorising method: nanoe™ released ●Test substance: adhered cigarette smoke odour ●Test result: odour intensity reduced by 2.4 in 12 minutes (4AA33-160615-N04)

*²: The following effects have been verified after about 4 hours in a space of approximately 25 m³ (However, the results are not measured in actual use space)
●Testing organisation: Kitasato Research Center for Environmental Science ●Test method: the number of bacteria is measured after direct exposure in an approximately 25 m³ sized airtight test room ●Inhibition method: nanoe™ released
●Test substance: airborne bacteria ●Types of bacteria tested: 1 type ●Test result: 99% or more inhibition in 4 hours (24_0301_1)

*³: The following effects have been verified after about 24 hours in a space of approximately 23 m³. (However, this is not the result of measurement in an actual use space.
●Testing organisation: Panasonic Product Analysis Center ●Testing method: Verified using the electrophoresis method in an approximately 23m³ sized test room ●Inhibition method: nanoe™ released ● Test substance: allergens ● Test result: 99% or more inhibition in 24 hours (4AA33-151001-F01)

*⁴: Texcell is a global contract research organisation that specialises in viral testings, viral clearance, immunoprofiling and R&D or GMP cell banking, for your R&D, GClP, GLP and GMP projects.
With more than 30 years of experience and roots within the Pasteur Institute in Paris, Texcell has a long-recognized expertise in viral testing with a broad range of protocols for the detection of adventitious agents.
Texcell is the first spin-off of the Pasteur institute of Paris created in 1997.

*⁵: Main releases on verification cases:
- October 26, 2020: Verification of inhibitory effect of nanoe™ X technology with the benefits of hydroxyl radicals on novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2)
- March 24, 2021: Inhibitory effect on SARS-CoV-2 confirmed by the Panasonic’s air conditioner with nanoe™ X

^(*) Find more about nanoe™ X at: https://www.panasonic.com/vn/nanoe/all.html