Iljin Composite Materials Makes First Entry into Japanese Railway Market

First Supply of Hydrogen Fuel Tanks to East Japan Railway Company (JR) Hybrid Trains

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Jong-hwa] Iljin Composite Materials announced on the 3rd that JR (East Japan Railway) will supply hydrogen fuel tanks for a hybrid train jointly developed with Toyota Motor Corporation and Hitachi in Japan.

This is the first time that Iljin Composite Materials, the world's number one mass producer of hydrogen fuel tanks, has entered the Japanese market.

The train adopts a hybrid system that uses hydrogen fuel cells and batteries as the main power sources.

The test train applies the hydrogen fuel cells used in Toyota Motor's hydrogen electric car 'Mirai' and hydrogen electric bus 'Sora,' along with the hybrid drive system developed by Hitachi. The train under development will be equipped with 700bar tanks developed by Iljin Composite Materials.

JR plans to complete development by 2021, conduct test runs in 2022, and deploy the train on actual routes in 2024.

Kim Ki-hyun, CEO of Iljin Composite Materials, said, "We were the first to obtain Japan's certification, which is the strictest among countries certifying hydrogen fuel tank safety, and the product reliability verified by the world's largest mass production became the foundation for entering Japan. Following automobiles, we plan to accelerate market diversification by using the Japanese market, where railway transportation is well developed, as a stepping stone."

Iljin Composite Materials is a subsidiary of Iljin Diamond (with an 86.95% stake) and is the only company in Korea mass-producing hydrogen fuel tanks for hydrogen vehicles.

Starting with the 'Tucson' hydrogen electric car, the world's first commercialized model by Hyundai Motor Company in 2014, it supplies hydrogen fuel tanks for next-generation hydrogen electric cars 'Nexo' and city buses, and in August, it also consecutively secured orders for police buses and mid-to-long-distance metropolitan buses.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.