SAMTECH of high-pressure hydrogen (H2) container manufacturer has now developed a more light-weighted accumulator for H2 stations.　

SAMTECH’s accumulator featuring an aluminum liner called Type 3 wrapped with carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP), and is now enjoying the top share in the domestic market of H2 station as adopted at about 70 locations.

As for the new model developed this time, SAMTECH has succeeded in less wrapping amount of CFRP leading to further lightweight. Actually, the weight of the current model of the 300ℓ type has been saved from about 730kg down to about 640kg which corresponds to a 10% reduction. In addition, the frequency of repeated use has been improved from 22 thousand to 30 thousand times. It is planned to be launched into the market in this autumn.

SAMTECH is also planning to develop a low-priced accumulator for starting sales in 2019. Further weight-saving will be applied to the model with less wrapping of CFRP using aluminum of higher strength for the liner.

The high-pressure gas container department of the company being engaged in the development commented, “Although it is a demerit that the high-strength aluminum is hard to process, we have been pursuing to develop a liner processing technology at the same time and now we have found a way clearly to a certain extent. We aim to set pricing with 20% reduction. We see ahead for early launching into the market.”