Our history & Vision

Q. Tell us about why you decided to develop a unique product that “washes the air.”

Iura: If you include Sanyo Electric products, we have over 30 years of experience in developing products that use hypochlorous acid. The first product was developed back in 1987, and it was an electrolytic sterilizer for vending machines that dispensed drinks in cups. Hypochlorous acid was used to purify water in swimming pools, and was even used in washing machines to replace detergents. The purification technology originally targeted water, but as research progressed, it was found that hypochlorous acid was effective in sterilizing and deodorizing air, which led to the development of commercial air purification systems.

On the other hand, at Panasonic, developments were underway for commercial air purifiers for large spaces that would satisfy the needs of professionals with their high performance. Simply improving airflow and filters was failed to realize sufficient sterilization and deodorization effects. When Sanyo Electric, with which Panasonic had merged its operations, came along with hypochlorous acid technology, the realization of the idea was accelerated. That’s when Panasonic’s research into products using hypochlorous acid really took off.

However, fusing the ideas and technologies of two different companies by resetting the cultures and norms of both and redesigning the product as one of a new genre were extremely difficult. We went back and forth every day. The research that began in 2011 took 2 years and culminated into ziaino^® in 2013.

Q. From the viewpoint of the developers of the groundbreaking ziaino^®, what kind of society do you hope to realize by encouraging more people to use ziaino^®?

Iura: Panasonic developed ziaino^® as a product responsible for improving IAQ (indoor air quality). In Japan just as we’ve moved on from drinking tap water as a matter of course to an era in which people seek to purchase fresher and safer drinking water, we believe that the percentage of people who are more particular about indoor air quality will increase. We hope that ziaino^® will continue to contribute to the creation of a healthier and more comfortable society by alleviating concerns regarding air, which is indispensable in sustaining life.

Panasonic Ecology Systems has gone beyond the development of commercial and household ziaino^® products and has established Reboot Space, which proposes spatial solutions for air and water quality that create new experience values for non-residential spaces by linking the main elements of air and water with light, sound, and even video.
This space also involves the installation of a prototype equipment that can release gaseous hypochlorous acid generated with the same mechanism as ziaino^®. We are constantly pursuing the possibilities of how Panasonic’s hypochlorous acid generation technology can contribute to society in public places of the future together with our business partners.