Mitsui & Co Ltd, Toray Industries Inc and Hexagon Lincoln Inc, a subsidiary of Hexagon Composites have proposed a joint venture to manufacture carbon fiber reinforced high-pressure hydrogen cylinders for vehicles in Japan. The JV would make use of the manufacturing technology of Hexagon Composites, which already makes carbon fiber-reinforced high-pressure cylinders with plastic liners, Mitsui’s customer assets and Toray’s carbon fiber. According the companies, the market for lightweight materials, such as carbon fiber, in vehicles, is expected to expand rapidly. Hexagon Lincoln has developed high-pressure hydrogen cylinders as functional components for fuel cell vehicles, which are fueled by hydrogen and produce no harmful emissions when operating. With Japanese motor vehicle manufacturers planning to mass-produce tens of thousands of fuel cell vehicles by the time of the Tokyo Olympics in 2020, the market for high-pressure hydrogen cylinders as key components for these vehicles is expected to expand.
This story uses material from Hexagon Composites, with editorial changes made by Materials Today. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent those of Elsevier.
