Are Hydrogen Fuel Cells the solution to longer flights?

[66427cobra]

Interesting news out of Japan regarding use of hydrogen fuel cells on a drone. It claims to extend flight time, significantly. But don't look for it in the near-term.

Innovative Hydrogen Fuel Cell Drone Receives Certification from the Japanese Government

A recent premiere in the autonomous mobility sector shows promising results for further decarbonization, with the help of hydrogen fuel cells – the first flight of a fully-certified hydrogen-powered drone in Japan was a success.

www.autoevolution.com

 

[MavicAir2Marc]

There was one from China I believe called the Narwhal a few years ago that came with the entire system for generating the hydrogen and everything. I think with the generator and all it was about $30,000 but they seemed eager to offer incentives and financing to get it out to the world. I don't know what ever happened to it or if they still make it.

 

[BigAl07]

This technology is already in use here in the USA. We had a DEMO scheduled with one for a Search-n-Rescue training event in 2019 but the unit had a malfunction and couldn't fly for our training event.

There are a lot of hurdles before this can become more common but it's a big step in the right direction. Keep in mind that Hydrogen can cause problems (think The Hindenburg accident) but it has potential.

 

[AVLJMA]

A crash with a hydrogen drone would be a bit more dramatic. A flying potential bomb.

 

[AZDave]

A crash with a hydrogen drone would be a bit more dramatic. A flying potential bomb.

ANYTHING with a high enough energy density and the ability to release that energy quickly is a potential bomb.

 

[Manty]

they flew a hydrogen drone at Cambridge University UK during the last 18 months

 

[123taff]

Hydrogen and flying objects don't have a happy history. I can see the development commercially, but I doubt "hobby" uses will ever be given the go ahead. Why does the average "hobbyist" have a need for longer flight periods than standard battery powered drones?