System could triple flight endurance of small UAVs and power special-mission vehicles
Protonex last week unveiled its Procore unmanned air vehicle fuel-cell propulsion system.
The Massachusetts-based company has developed the fuel-cell system, which could be used to power UAVs designed for surveillance, chemical-biological monitoring, border patrol and other special missions, with help from the US Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) and Air Force Research Laboratory.
The NRL has completed two flight tests using a prototype power system comprised of Protonex fuel- cell technology and a pressure vessel containing gaseous hydrogen (Flight International, 16-22 May). "The progress we have made on our UAV power platform already provides the opportunity to double or triple the flight durations of a typical small UAV," says Protonex chief executive Scott Pearson.
Procore will differ from the NRL powerplant in that it uses a solid storage system, which the company calls a chemical hydride fuelling solution.
Hydride compounds can absorb gaseous hydrogen into a solid structure and its release mechanism is either fluid- and/or temperature-based. The company claims the hydride system can provide energy densities four times greater than batteries for small UAVs.
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| Aerovironment's UAV has already demonstrated fuel-cell power |
Source: Flight International
