Development of the fuel-cell/battery hybrid railway vehicle

In order to save energy and reduce environmental burdens, we (Railway Technical Research Institute) have been developing a railway vehicle powered by fuel cells since FY 2001. In FY 2006, we produced the railway vehicle powered by a 100kW-class fuel cell system with assumed the power supply for railway vehicle traction, and succeeded in making the vehicle run for one car. The results of these tests indicated that energy efficiency of the fuel cell increased by about 50%, and that the fuel consumption rate varied widely depending on running conditions. In FY 2008, as a measure to utilize the energy at regenerative braking, we developed the lithium-ion battery system with an energy capacity of 36 kWh and the DC/DC converter for power management. With these equipments installed on the vehicle, we composed the fuel-cell/battery hybrid railway vehicle consisting of two cars, and executed running tests at our test line.