Whitepaper: Using Fuel Cell Technology to Extend VTOL UAV Missions

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.

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