Archive - December 2022

Panasonic promotes tasty and healthy family cooking with combination steam microwave oven

December 7, 2022
Kitchen appliances

Featuring air fry style cooking for crispy, delicious results

Panasonic has launched its latest Combination Steam Microwave Oven, allowing everyone from the busy family, the food prepper and the creative cook to easily enjoy tasty meals and preserve healthy nutrients.

The NN-DS59N Microwave features four different cooking methods – steam, oven (top-bottom heater), grill and microwave power. This puts an amazing variety of recipes at your disposal, from steamed fish and vegetables to spicy, crispy chicken wings or even chocolate cake.

Much loved Australian cook and Panasonic partner Marion Grasby put the new Microwave to the test and said:

“I’ve been a proud Panasonic partner for some time now and I’m always super impressed by the amount of tech they put into their appliances. This new NN-DS59N Microwave is no exception. I especially love the healthy grill function. It’s awesome to be able to make air-fryer style food on a flat tray (as opposed to a cramped air fryer basket) – I even made some epic air-fryer style wings!”

Level up your kitchen repertoire

Steam Cooking

Steaming preserves nutrients and maximises taste for an overall healthy and delicious experience, especially when cooking fish and vegetables. Thanks to the integrated 600ml water tank and boiler, the NN-DS59N delivers a powerful 1100 watts of steam. The steam completely fills the oven, so you can quickly cook an entire meal such as fish and vegetables in just 15 minutes. The steam function can be combined with the oven (top-bottom heat) and grill functions for impressive cooking flexibility. This is perfect for recipes like gyozas which can be steamed on top and grilled on the bottom.

Air Fry Style Cooking

Air fry style cooking achieves healthier low-fat cooking and crispy results on all sides, from mouthwatering lamb skewers to potato gems and crunchy vegetables. Panasonic’s unique grill tray is designed so that fat released when cooking runs down the grooves, removing oil so that food is juicy on the inside and crunchy on the outside. During cooking, microwave power heats up the bottom of the Grill Tray, while the grill function works from the top.

Automatic Functions for Perfect Results

Cook using two or more heat sources at the same time for tasty meals that are ready faster. With the choice of up to six Combination Cooking programs, you have the right cooking method for the best results at the touch of a button. Other capabilities that make preparing meals a breeze and guarantee great results every time include:

  • The Genius Sensor, an Auto Reheat function which measures the moisture in food and adjusts cooking times to achieve the best results
  • 28 Auto Programs to cook everything from baked bread to steamed rice
  • Inverter Technology to cook meals up to 40 per cent faster

Easy Cleaning

Cooking is more enjoyable when clean-up is easy. The flat grill heater and flat stainless-steel interior are simple to wipe down and four automatic cleaning programs – such as Cavity Cleaning which uses hot steam – keep your Microwave spick and span without the fuss. The compact design includes a cavity with a large 27 litres of space, giving you the flexibility to use a range of cookware. Plus, no turntable means fewer components to wash, also saving water, and the Grill Tray is dishwasher-safe.

Stylish and Durable

The microwave has a sleek, compact design to suit a range of kitchens. The frameless downward-opening glass door, the easy-to-see touchscreen control panel and the LCD display with white lettering are all ergonomic and stylish. The NN-DS59N undergoes rigorous factory testing to ensure lasting reliability. Dedicated Panasonic robots press the buttons more than 60,000 times and open the door 150,000 times – movements that would normally be made over the course of 15 years.

Pricing and Availability

Panasonic’s NN-DS59N is available now from leading consumer electronics retailers, priced at $919 RRP.

To enjoy Convection Microwave recipes, tips and more on the Panasonic Home Appliance range, visit @panasonickitchen_au. For further product information, please visit www.panasonic.com.au or call 132 600.

Panasonic and ATCO Australia join forces to promote renewable energy through hydrogen initiative

December 2, 2022
Energy Solutions

Panasonic has announced a partnership with engineering, logistics and energy company ATCO Australia, trialling a new fuel cell that is being used to convert hydrogen to electricity.

The installation – at the ATCO Clean Energy Innovation Hub (CEIH) in Jandakot, Western Australia – is the first Australian test demonstration of the capabilities of Panasonic Hydrogen Fuel Cells, delivered at a time when the nation is accelerating its shift towards renewable forms of energy production. When established the CEIH was Australia’s first commercial scale, renewable hydrogen supply chain, a significant technological step towards reducing Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions.

Russell James, General Manager for Hydrogen and Future Fuels at ATCO Australia said: “We are proud to have partnered with Panasonic in this innovative hydrogen initiative. The company’s knowhow, expertise and unique hydrogen fuel cell design allows us to efficiently convert hydrogen to electricity, contributing up to five kilowatts of power to our Jandakot maintenance workshops.”

How does it work?

Pure hydrogen from the CEIH’s pipeline is injected into the Panasonic hydrogen fuel cell, which converts it into electricity, and can also support co-generation, where the waste heat produced can be utilised for purposes such as heating water. The entire process is powered by renewable energy, resulting in zero carbon gas emissions being released into the atmosphere. The Panasonic hydrogen fuel cell produces up to five kilowatts of power and can scale this output by connecting and controlling multiple generator units to meet demand.

Panasonic has been producing residential fuel cells for Japanese (since 2009) and European markets (since 2014) and has subsequently sold around 220,000 units as of November 2022.  The commercial use, 5kW hydrogen fuel cell (“H2 KIBOU”), installed at CEIH, Jandakot, uses the same technology as a residential fuel cell, but uses pure hydrogen as a direct fuel source instead of natural gas.  In April 2022, these fuel cells supported the opening of the H2 KIBOU FIELD[1] demonstration facility in Kusatsu, Shiga, Japan, with the intention of powering site operations entirely by renewable resources in the future.

With this latest installation, Panasonic is proud to bolster its contribution to the global decarbonisation effort towards achieving a carbon-neutral society. In alignment with its long-term environmental vision of “Panasonic GREEN IMPACT”, the company will continue to find new ways to expand the adoption of renewable energy sources that include the full-scale use of hydrogen.

Paul Reid, Managing Director at Panasonic Australia said: “Since Panasonic was founded more than 100 years ago, we have constantly searched for ways to improve the quality of people’s lives, through the innovation, creation and development of technologies.”
“In recent years, this philosophy has evolved to consider how we can enrich the lives of future generations. Panasonic believes that hydrogen is an essential component in the journey towards net zero. Through this partnership with ATCO Australia, we’re excited to explore the vast potential of decarbonisation as a critical mechanism to create a more sustainable and secure energy future for Australians, and the world,” said Mr Reid.

Achieving a net zero goal requires companies to utilise all renewable energy sources available – including solar, wind, geothermal, hydropower and biomass. However, some of these forms of power generation have drawbacks, including large output variations depending on weather conditions and the lack of flexibility to adjust power generation to cope with demand.

Analysts from the European Commission[2] estimate that clean hydrogen could meet 24 per cent of the world’s energy needs by 2050, although it will take significant research and development from a number of industries to meet these ambitious targets.

Hydrogen is one of the most abundant substances on earth and can be used as thermal energy and electric power, through combustion and chemical reactions without emitting CO2 in the process. These fuel cells can produce the highest proportion of electricity of any combined heat and power technology as an adjustable and decentralised solution, reducing dependence on centrally generated power while saving carbon emissions, and potentially electricity costs.

Paul Reid reiterated that while this fuel cell is a test model, Panasonic will closely monitor its performance within the harsh Australian climate conditions and has plans to introduce a Hydrogen Fuel Cell optimised for the Australian market in the years ahead.

“We are also excited to investigate applications for Hydrogen Fuel Cells in various commercial and industrial settings including large-scale mining sites and remote micro-grids which currently rely on diesel.” said Mr Reid.

[1] Panasonic to Begin Operating H2 KIBOU FIELD Demonstration Facility Utilizing Pure Hydrogen Fuel Cell Generators, 2022

[2] European Commission, A hydrogen strategy for a climate neutral Europe, 2020