CRRC Leads Formulation of World's First International Standard for Fuel Cell Performance Testing in Rail Transit, Enhancing Global Influence in Hydrogen Energy Industry

Recently, the international standard IEC 63341-3:2025 "Railway Applications - Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Systems for Rolling Stock - Test Methods for Performance of Fuel Cell Power Generation Systems" led by CRRC was officially released by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). This is the first core performance testing standard in the global rolling stock fuel cell field, marking a key breakthrough for China in setting international standards for the hydrogen industry chain and providing a "Chinese solution" for the development of hydrogen-powered rail transit globally.

As an important part of the IEC 63341 series of standards, it establishes a comprehensive test and evaluation system covering all scenarios for fuel cell power generation systems. The core content includes specifications for test bench layout, instrument accuracy requirements, and multi-dimensional performance testing methods — in terms of conventional testing, it clarifies the procedures for measuring basic performance such as steady-state operation, dynamic response, polarization curves, and load curves; for environmental adaptability testing, it focuses on evaluating system performance under complex conditions including altitude, extreme temperatures (-40°C to 60°C), and extreme humidity; it also innovatively incorporates noise control (≤75 dB) and EMC (electromagnetic compatibility) testing requirements, filling the international gap in electromagnetic interference assessment for railway fuel cell systems. These technical requirements provide a unified "performance yardstick" for global railway fuel cell products, effectively addressing the product certification barriers caused by differences in testing methods across countries.

The creation of this standard took six years of technical research and international collaboration. In October 2019, with support from the China Electrical Equipment Industry Association, CRRC successfully proposed the project at the IEC/TC105 (the core organization for fuel cell standardization) plenary meeting, becoming the first international standard project in this field led by China. Liu Nan, a senior technical expert from CRRC Tangshan, served as the working group convener, forming a multinational R&D team comprising top-tier enterprises such as CRRC, Canada's Ballard, Japan's Toyota, and Germany's Siemens. In April 2021, to enhance professional suitability in the rail transit sector, the project merged with the IEC/TC9 (Railway Technology Committee) PT63341 working group, establishing the IEC/TC9 JWG51 joint working group, creating a dual-expert team collaboration model of "fuel cell technology + rail transit application," ultimately integrating 12 core technological achievements from China in areas such as dynamic response control and extreme environment adaptability into the standard text.

From an industrial impact perspective, the release of this standard will accelerate the commercialization process of global hydrogen-powered rail transit. Currently, hydrogen-powered train sets like Alstom's Coradia iLint in Germany and CRRC's CRH6F-Z have entered the large-scale demonstration phase, but the lack of a unified standard has limited cross-market applications. According to official calculations by IEC, the implementation of this standard can reduce the product certification cycle for multinational corporations by 40% and lower testing costs by 30%. For China, this breakthrough signifies that the hydrogen energy rail transit industry chain has gained "rule-making power" in international competition—the fuel cell system developed by CRRC has passed all tests required by this standard, with key indicators such as dynamic response speed (load change rate ≥50%/second) and low-temperature startup success rate (successful startup at -30°C in one attempt) reaching internationally leading levels, laying a technical foundation for the export of China's hydrogen fuel locomotives.

As the third part of the IEC 63341 series standards, this standard, together with the already published IEC 63341-1 (system design requirements) and the upcoming IEC 63341-2 (safety specifications), forms a complete standard system for rail transit fuel cell systems. Relevant personnel from CRRC stated that the next step will involve continuously leading the iterative upgrade of this series of standards, focusing on advancing research into sub-projects such as hydrogen refueling interface standardization and fuel cell lifespan assessment, and collaborating with domestic enterprises to promote the implementation and application of the standards in countries along the "Belt and Road" initiative. Industry experts pointed out that this standard breakthrough not only enhances China's international influence in the hydrogen energy sector but will also drive the development of upstream and downstream industries, including domestic fuel cell materials and testing equipment. It is projected that by 2030, a standardized industrial cluster with an annual output value exceeding 20 billion yuan will be formed, providing crucial technical support for the energy structure transformation under the "dual carbon" goals.