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UK, Published date 16 May, 2017

Hitachi, Ltd. join the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering as latest corporate donor

Hitachi, Ltd. join the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering as latest corporate donor The world’s most prestigious engineering prize, the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering (QEPrize), today announces Hitachi, Ltd. as their latest corporate donor.

Hitachi, Ltd. joins BAE Systems, BP, GlaxoSmithKline, Jaguar Land Rover, National Grid, Nissan Motor Corporation, Shell UK Ltd., Siemens UK, Sony, Tata Consultancy Services, Tata Steel Europe and Toshiba in supporting the prize.

Lord Browne of Madingley, Chairman of the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering Foundation, said: ‘I am delighted to welcome Hitachi, Ltd. to the list of international companies whose generous support enables the work of the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering. Hitachi has a proud history of excellence and innovation in engineering, not only in Japan but throughout the world. They share our belief that in showcasing the heights that the engineering profession reaches and the diversity of the world’s leading engineers we can encourage a new generation to meet the challenges of the next decades.

Alongside our other donor companies, Hitachi’s support is a very public commitment to the work of the QEPrize and to the future of engineering, and I thank them greatly.’ Hitachi’s investment in the QEPrize demonstrates their commitment to global growth and development in markets outside of Japan, while promoting the prestigious engineering prize at an international scale.

President and CEO of Hitachi Ltd Toshiaki Higashihara, said of the announcement: “Hitachi, Ltd. is proud to be the latest corporate supporter of the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering, the most prestigious prize for engineering in the world. Hitachi’s commitment to this Prize matches our commitment as a business, to be a world leader in the development of engineering and technology which improves people’s lives around the world. At Hitachi we call this Social Innovation - and the Queen Elizabeth Prize is the perfect platform to help us encourage and find tomorrow’s talent who will develop such innovations that have a global societal impact.” The announcement also follows that of the first Japanese winner of the QEPrize, Professor Nobukazu Teranishi, honoured for his contribution to digital image sensors. As world leaders in engineering and technology, Hitachi, Ltd. hope their involvement with the QEPrize will encourage young people around the world to follow in QEPrize winner’s footsteps and become the prize winners of tomorrow.

About the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering The Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering (QEPrize) is the world’s leading engineering prize, celebrating the engineers responsible for a ground-breaking innovation in engineering that has been of global benefit to humanity. The biennial £1million prize aims to raise the public profile of engineering and inspire young people to take up the engineering challenges of the future.

The inaugural winners, in 2013, were Robert Kahn, Vint Cerf, Louis Pouzin, Sir Tim Berners-Lee and Marc Andreessen for revolutionising the way we communicate. In 2015, the QEPrize was awarded to Dr Robert Langer for his pioneering work in controlled release large molecule drug delivery systems, benefitting more than 2 billion people worldwide.

In February, it was announced the 2017 QEPrize honours the four engineers responsible for the creation of digital imaging sensors; Eric Fossum, George Smith, Michael Tompsett and Nobukazu Teranishi. They will be awarded the Prize in a ceremony at Buckingham Palace later this year.

About the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering Foundation The Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering Foundation is a charitable company limited by guarantee and was established to administer the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering.

The chairman of the Queen Elizabeth Prize Foundation (QEPrize Foundation) is Lord Browne of Madingley. Making up the trustee board are Professor Dame Ann Dowling, Mala Gaonkar, Sir Paul Nurse and Sir John Beddington. Sir Mark Walport, Chief Scientific Adviser to UK Government, is adviser to the board.

The QEPrize is run on behalf of the QEPrize Foundation by a team based at the Royal Academy of Engineering in the UK.

About Hitachi, Ltd. Hitachi, Ltd. (TSE: 6501), headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, delivers innovations that answer society’s challenges. The company’s consolidated revenues for fiscal 2016 (ended March 31, 2017) totaled 9,162.2 billion yen ($81.8 billion). The Hitachi Group is a global leader in the Social Innovation Business, and it has approximately 304,000 employees worldwide. Through collaborative creation, Hitachi is providing solutions to customers in a broad range of sectors, including Power / Energy, Industry / Distribution / Water, Urban Development, and Finance / Government & Public / Healthcare. For more information on Hitachi, please visit the company's website at http://www.hitachi.com .