Sharp launches the world's largest energy-saving LCD TV

Coming from the company that invented LCD technology in the 70's, it may not come as a surprise. Sharp is gung ho about maintaining its pioneering stance in the LCD space and investing an additional USD1.7 billion this year to augment capacity. The prototype LCD TV developed at this time brings together Sharp's unique, one-of-a-kind LCD technologies nurtured over long years of experience in this field to achieve unprecedented, mind-boggling levels of performance and design with a thickness of 20 mm (main display section; 29 mm at the thickest part) and a contrast ratio of 100,000:1.

By working to achieve further innovations in LCD technology in the future, Sharp will be creating LCD TVs that will completely transform living spaces and become the support and driving force behind the digital video culture of the 21st century.

Parallely, Sharp is doing more than its bit for the environment by launching initiatives that use alternate non damaging energy sources and that saves energy.

Energy-saving LCD

Sharp Corporation has been engaged in the manufacturing of energy - saving LCD and energy-creating solar cells as the pillars of business, with the goal of being an "environmentally advanced company". Now the company has made the decision to build on the same site a new state-of-the-art LCD panel plant and solar cell plant for the mass production of thin-film solar cells in Sakai City, Osaka, Japan. Site area: 1.27 million m2. Amount of investment of the project is around USD 3.3 billion (including land acquisition costs).

This project is being developed as a 'manufacturing complex for the 21st Century' that will incorporate relevant infrastructure and facilities, as well as attract material and production equipment manufacturers to construct their plants on the same site.

LCD panel plant

The LCD panel plant will be the first in the world to use 10th-generation glass substrates, the world's largest size (2,850 mm x 3,050 mm), 60 percent larger than the 8th-generation substrates making it possible to fabricate LCD panels for large-screen TVs with extremely high levels of efficiency, and the input capacity at estimated at 72,000 substrates per month (initial capacity at start of operations will be 36,000 substrates per month).

Construction is slated to start in November of this year, with production operations scheduled to start by March 2010.

Solar cell plant

The solar cell plant will focus on mass production of thin-film solar cells. Sharp is the world's leading manufacturer of solar cells in terms of production volume, and has already commercialized thin-film solar cells that achieve a power generating efficiency that is among the best in the industry. Plans call for a production volume of around 1,000 MW (1 million kW) per year for the thin-film solar cells to be manufactured at this facility. This level is expected to maximize economies of scale, and make this factory the largest solar cell plant in the world. Operations are slated to begin at same time as the LCD panel plant ie by March 2010.

The next leap

Sharp's next technological leap would be to create a giant flat panel light enough to hang easily, like a painting. The product is estimated to be ready in 2-3 years and Sharp labs are working on eliminating the backlight which accounts for most of the weight. In about 10 years, Sharp reckons that entire walls could be screens.

"The electronics business has become unpredictable, the only thing predictable is the fact that you have to run faster and faster to stay in the same place. With a pedigree of innovation and technology superiority, Sharp is focused on doing it all the time," asserts Tomio Isogai, Managing Director, Sharp Middle East FZE.