Recent Developments Point To Opportunities For Alternative Fuels

A group of researchers at the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the American University of Sharjah (AUS) recently conducted the first hydrogen fuel cell-powered unmanned aerial vehicle flight in the Middle East.

The fuel cell powered flight took place in the United Arab Emirate and Gulf Cooperation Council regions. The plane cruised comfortably during flight duration of approximately ten minutes, powered only by a Proton Exchange Membrane hydrogen fuel cell (PEMFC). The team will now look to pursue further tests related to payload capacity, endurance, and the ability to fly autonomously.

In the commercial space, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office just awarded a patent to Airbus for a hypersonic passenger plane. The jet is designed to utilize rocket engines to propel to supersonic speeds, where hydrogen-powered wing mounted ramjets would engage to propel the jet to its destination. While still under development, the plane could potentially fly from New York to London in an hour, and from Paris to Tokyo in under three hours.

In noting these two developments, alternative energy company HyperSolar said that there is great potential for hydrogen power in the aviation industry.

"These recent news events have occurred due to the global commitment to hydrogen fuel innovation spanning industries including consumer automobile, transportation, industrial, and more," said said Tim Young, CEO of HyperSolar. "It is our belief that the R&D efforts surrounding new hydrogen technologies will result in an increased demand for hydrogen fuel, one that HyperSolar can potentially leverage upon its own technology's commercialization."

(Image provided by HyperSolar)

FMI: www.hypersolar.com