“EPA established the Climate Protection and Stratospheric Ozone Protection Awards to recognize acts of extraordinary leadership and innovation to protect the Earth's atmosphere. This year's winners are organizations and individuals who demonstrate their resolve and commitment to take actions that help make our planet a healthy place to live for generations to come,” said Jeff Holmstead, assistant administrator, Office of Air and Radiation, United States Environmental Protection Agency.

Masaharu Sumikawa, president and CEO of Hitachi, Ltd., Power and Industrial Systems, said, “We are extremely proud to receive this prestigious award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for the Hitachi PFC Abatement System. Hitachi has a long standing tradition of being committed to the environment by actively promoting the development of efficient and affordable systems for solving global environmental problems.”

Hitachi successfully developed this proprietary catalytic technology by combining air and water to effectively decompose PFCs produced during the semiconductor manufacturing process with greater than 99.9% efficiency. The SCDS produces less waste and has a lower cost of ownership than any reclaim, combustion or chemical conversion methods currently available. In addition, the catalyst is completely recycled in an environmentally friendly manner.

The 2002 Climate Protection Award will be presented to Hitachi, Ltd. and others at the Earth Technologies Forum to be held on Monday, March 25, 2002 in Washington, D.C. Past recipients of the U.S. EPA Climate Protection Award include Intel Corporation, Novellus Systems, Texas Instruments and Applied Materials.

For more information on Hitachi semiconductor manufacturing equipment, service support, spare parts for etchers and gas abatement systems please visit http://www.hitachi.com/semiequipment.

Hitachi America, Ltd., a subsidiary of Hitachi, Ltd., markets and manufactures a broad range of electronics, computer systems and products, consumer electronics and semiconductors, and provides industrial equipment and services throughout North America. For more information, visit http://www.hitachi.com.

Hitachi, Ltd., headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is one of the world's leading global electronics companies, with fiscal 2000 (ended March 31, 2001) consolidated sales of 8,417 billion yen ($67.9 billion*). The company manufactures and markets a wide range of products, including computers, semiconductors, consumer products and power and industrial equipment. For more information on Hitachi, Ltd., please visit Hitachi's Web site at http://global.hitachi.com.

*At an exchange rate of 124 yen to the dollar.