Hydrogen Fuel Cell Powered Test Stand Rotor Run

Hydroplane brought hydrogen fuel cell powered rotorcraft flight one step closer to fruition with its successful demonstration of full rotor flight speed on a hydrogen fuel cell driven rotor transmission test stand run.

The achievement is part of the work being done under Hydroplane’s XTech8 Phase 1 Small Business Innovation Research, or SBIR, contract with the U.S. Army.

The contract was awarded in fall 2024 and calls for both outlining the expected capabilities and performance of the hydrogen fuel cell powerplant for a variety of Army uses as well as conducting a prototype demo for vertical lift.

Dr. Anita Sengupta, CEO of Hydroplane said, “This phase of the program was focused on validating both the performance and mission relevance of our lightweight hydrogen fuel cell powerplant for vertical lift and extended-range UAV/UAS operations.

“Since the contract award last November, we’ve developed and tested a full-scale rotary wing testbed, integrating our electric-propulsion system with a rotor transmission and 23-foot rotor to achieve stable operation at flight-representative rotor speeds.”

The hydrogen fuel cell powerplant developed by Hydroplane is designed to replace internal combustion engines in certified, experimental, and next-generation aircraft as well as auxiliary power units or APUs.

The powerplant’s reduced thermal signature, quiet operation, and scalable architecture are in alignment with DoD priorities for the logistically flexible and resilient energy solutions it requires for battlespace applications.

Hydroplane was also a winner of the 2024 xTechSearch 8 competition for its mobile hydrogen-based energy storage concept. The company has also successfully completed prior SBIR contracts with the U.S. Navy as well as two with the U.S. Air Force under its Agility Prime initiative.

Dr. Sengupta will present Hydroplane’s vertical lift developments during two technical presentations at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2025.

FMI:  hydroplane.us/