Tokyo, March 13, 2014 – Hitachi, Ltd. (TSE:6501/“Hitachi”), Daikin Industries, Ltd. (TSE:6367/“Daikin”), and Mizuho Bank, Ltd. (“Mizuho Bank”) today announced that their consortium will commence the demonstration phase of the “Smart Community Project in Greater Manchester, UK.” This project has been spearheaded by Japan’s New Energy Development Organization (“NEDO”), with the consortium selected to execute the project.