UBE Now Supplying Nylon 6 Resin for High-Pressure Hydrogen Tanks in New Crown FCEV

TOKYO, December 8, 2023 — UBE Corporation (hereinafter “UBE”; President: Masato Izumihara) announced today that it is supplying polyamide (nylon) 6 resin for the new Crown FCEV recently released by Toyota Motor Corporation (hereinafter “Toyota Motor”; President: Koji Sato). Sold commercially as UBE NYLON™ 1218IU, the nylon 6 resin was co-developed by Toyota Motor and UBE for use as a plastic liner material in the high-pressure hydrogen tank for fuel cell vehicles (FCVs). This marks the second Toyota Motor fuel cell passenger vehicle model, following the MIRAI, to use UBE’s nylon 6 resin.

UBE NYLON™ 1218IU satisfies the stringent standards to be approved as a plastic liner material for the high-pressure hydrogen tank in the Crown FCEV. As the innermost component (inner liner) of the tank, the plastic liner prevents hydrogen from leaking out of the tank. The nylon 6 resin delivers superior performance for hydrogen permeation prevention and excellent mechanical performance, in terms of durability to withstand sudden changes in tank temperature from filling and discharging hydrogen, and impact resistance in low-temperature environments.

UBE began manufacturing and marketing nylon 6 resin in 1959, and it is one of the world’s leading producers, with a global manufacturing capacity of 198,000 tonnes annually. In recent years, UBE has expanded its global presence as a composite materials manufacturer using various engineering plastics to meet increasingly sophisticated market needs. It boasts a production capacity of 53,000 tonnes of engineering plastics composite materials, spanning operations in Japan, Asia, Europe, and North America. UBE’s product development capabilities and consistent quality underpin its solution-provision business, which continues to earn high acclaim. Going forward, UBE remains committed to boosting production capacity for engineering plastics composites while concentrating efforts on developing products that fulfill the diverse performance requirements of evolving automotive applications.