Experimental jet drone powered by Horizon fuel cells

Singapore's Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies, ironically best known for its fuel cell-based toys (see Fuel cell car toys get massive ride pimping) has powered the flight of the first known fuel cell-powered jet.

And while the jet itself was diminutive in size, it illustrated the possibilities of favorable power-to-weight ratios with fuel cells, its creators said.

The HyFish, a 1.2 meter long blended wing experimental unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), built by scientists at Stuttgart’s DLR Institute for Technical Thermodynamics, soared over the hills of Bern, Switzerland earlier this month, and performed vertical climbs, loops and other aerobatics, reaching speeds up to 200 km/hr.

Unlike previous experiments with slower moving and lower power traditional UAV configurations, this was the first time a fast plane with jet wings was able to fly with a hydrogen fuel cell as its only power source.

UAVs are one of the most demanding applications for emerging hydrogen fuel cell power technologies due to the constraints of size, weight and aerodynamics.

The DLR Institute group was able to shoehorn a light, compact fuel cell system built by Horizon into the tiny aircraft. The cell produced an electrical power output of 1 kilowatt from an total system weight of only 3 kilograms, which included the pressurized hydrogen tank. The HyFish's total weight was only 6 kilograms.

In optimal conditions, Horizon’s fuel cell stack alone was able to deliver a peak power of 1.3kW at only 800g of weight, achieving a record fuel cell power density of over 1.5W per gram, the company claimed.

Horizon plans to deliver fuel cells to at least another three UAV development programs this year in a bid to become the world-leading supplier of fuel cell systems for unmanned flight.

“We are confident that record-breaking 15 to 30 hour flight times are now within reach for small UAVs, which would offer new and disruptive possibilities in the aviation industry, said George Gu, President & CEO of Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies.

Fuel cell-powered UAVs to date have included Horizon's own NASA-sponsored tests at California State University in Los Angeles last August, as well as efforts by competitors Protonex and Millennium Cell (see Protonex awards Millennium U.S. military fuel cell subcontract.)

For video of the maiden flight of the HyFish, click here.

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