Whitepaper: Using Fuel Cell Technology to Extend VTOL UAV Missions

By Mike Ball / 20 Aug 2018

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Ballard Power Systems, a leading provider of innovative clean energy solutions and fuel cell technologies, has released a whitepaper outlining how recently-developed fuel cell-based technologies can prolong the duration of VTOL (vertical take-off and landing) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) missions by up to a factor of three compared to batteries.

Download the full whitepaper from Ballard’s website

The paper gives details of:

  • Proton-exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) technology, including the various subsystems
  • The benefits and drawbacks of air-cooled and liquid-cooled PEMFC systems
  • Methods of storing hydrogen aboard a UAV
  • Battery and fuel cell performance metrics for two multirotor UAV platforms

The paper shows how proton exchange membrane fuel cell power systems can be an attractive alternative to current battery-based power system solutions for a range of VTOL multi-rotor UAV systems in the 3-25kg range. To find out more, download the whitepaper from Ballard’s website.

Find suppliers of Fuels Cells for unmanned applications >

Posted by Mike Ball Mike Ball is our resident technical editor here at Unmanned Systems Technology. Combining his passion for teaching, advanced engineering and all things unmanned, Mike keeps a watchful eye over everything related to the unmanned technical sector. With over 10 years’ experience in the unmanned field and a degree in engineering, Mike’s been heading up our technical team here for the last 8 years. Connect & Contact

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