After 3 Years of Research, Domestic Production Achieved: 'Ilexity Hydrogen' Installed in 14 Units This Year
KBI Group's automotive parts division, air conditioning specialist KBO Autotech, announced on the 22nd that it will exclusively supply the 'electric bus air conditioner' for Hyundai Motor's hydrogen electric buses, marking its full-scale entry into the eco-friendly commercial vehicle market. Photo by KBO Autotech
[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heeyoon] KBI Group’s automotive parts division air conditioning specialist, KB Autotec, announced on the 22nd that it will aggressively target the eco-friendly commercial vehicle market by exclusively supplying ‘electric bus air conditioners’ for Hyundai Motor’s hydrogen electric buses.
According to KB Autotec, starting with 14 new hydrogen electric buses delivered this year, all hydrogen electric buses ‘Elec City Hydrogen’ produced by Hyundai Motor will be equipped with its electric bus air conditioners.
KB Autotec, which supplied a total of 84 electric air conditioners to Hyundai Motor, including the world’s first mass-produced hydrogen electric large truck ‘Xcient FCEV’ last year, added that this product will also be installed in 180 hydrogen electric buses launched this year in 13 local governments nationwide.
After three years of development, the ‘electric bus air conditioner,’ which succeeded in domestic localization for the first time in Korea, is an air conditioner driven by an electric motor, departing from the conventional diesel engine-driven method. It is an integrated unit of the air conditioner and electric compressor, making it easy to attach to buses as there are no pipes connecting from the engine room to the roof. Additionally, it is embedded and mounted on the bus roof, increasing the utilization of internal space.
In particular, this product, which independently developed the inverter and converter for compressor control, the core technology of the electric air conditioner, applies an integrated high-performance inverter that minimizes battery consumption through efficient control. KB Autotec explained that this results in a 21% improvement in current consumption and a 19% increase in cooling performance compared to imported products.
A KB Autotec official said, “Being selected as a partner for electric air conditioners in Hyundai Motor’s hydrogen electric bus production recognizes our ability to supply products with excellent quality and price competitiveness not only for internal combustion engine buses but also for eco-friendly buses.” He added, “We plan to grow as an air conditioning specialist company that develops and leads next-generation parts for electric and hydrogen electric vehicles applicable to various types of commercial vehicles in line with global carbon neutrality policies.”
Meanwhile, KB Autotec, located in Asan City, Chungnam Province, is a global mid-sized air conditioning specialist company with about 500 employees and annual sales of around 250 billion KRW. Its main business is the production and supply of automotive air conditioning units and applied heat exchanger products, maintaining business relationships with domestic and overseas automobile manufacturers. Furthermore, it supplies related parts for passenger cars, commercial vehicles, buses, and heavy equipment, playing a key role in the development of the domestic automotive industry.
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