Wed, Jan 25, 2023
Hydrogen Powered Drones to Attempt Transatlantic Voyage on Hydrogen Power
H3 Dynamics has joined hands with Hylium Industries to boost the performance of their sustainable, hydrogen-electric hybrid tech with the latter's liquid hydrogen storage designs.
Hylium's specialty in liquification for hydrogen fuels could be a great boost to H3 Dynamics' efforts, as they develop hydrogen propulsion in a world of battery-only competitors. The jump to liquid hydrogen is a promising one, given its increased energy density over compressed gas. From the outset, its liquid form boasts 3 times the energy per cubic milliliter, allowing future UAVs to fly further and operate longer than they would be powered by hydrogen gas. In order to demonstrate the change, H3 Dynamics says its gas-powered demonstrator aircraft from last year would now be able to fly more than 900 kilometers with a single fill, while its original spec ran out of steam at 400.
H3 Dynamics has embarked on developing the necessary infrastructure for hydrogen production, like its automated hydrogen refueling station. The H2FIELD is a mobile station that produces hydrogen from water and delivers compressed hydrogen gas tanks to the operator with little human intervention and no required hydrogen expertise. With a simple, no-fuss solution, hydrogen-powered drones are even simpler to implement, taking care of their preflight refueling in the background, no human required. The new partnership with Hylium will soon upgrade the station so that it can fill liquid hydrogen tanks. The South Korean firm has already borne out the utility of liquid hydrogen, developing the LH2 standardization as a contender for a global ISO spec.
Next up for the partnership? A 3,000 kilometer journey across the Atlantic. ISAE SUPAERO Toulouse has been hard at work developing a special fuselage that integrates a small LH2 tank for maximum range. While that carries onward, H3 Dynamics is reportedly working on converting their self-contained hydrogen nacelles to liquid hydrogen too. Their twin-engine cargo drone could see its own 3x boost to range, allowing even better cost-performance than the original h2 gas-powered demonstrator.
More News
From 2016 (YouTube Edition): The Canadian Forces Snowbirds Can Best Be Described As ‘Elegant’… EAA AirVenture 2016 was a great show and, in no small part, it was>[...]
Airplane Lunged Forward When It Was Stuck From Behind By A Tug That Was Towing An Unoccupied Airliner Analysis: At the conclusion of the air taxi flight, the flight crew were taxii>[...]
Aero Linx: International Stinson Club So you want to buy a Stinson. Well the Stinson is a GREAT value aircraft. The goal of the International Stinson Club is to preserve informatio>[...]
Request Full Route Clearance Used by pilots to request that the entire route of flight be read verbatim in an ATC clearance. Such request should be made to preclude receiving an AT>[...]
"Today's battlefield is adapting rapidly. By teaching our soldiers to understand how drones work and are built, we are giving them the skills to think creatively and apply emerging>[...]
Classic Aero-TV: Pure Aerial Precision - The Snowbirds at AirVenture 2016
See All