Hydrogen-powered drone in China-innovation and capacity
An independently-developed Chinese hydrogen-powered drone has recently completed a 30-hour non-stop flight, a new record for such aircraft produced in the country, according to the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC).
An independently-developed Chinese hydrogen-powered drone [Photo/Chinanews.com]
This type of 50 kg-class hydrogen drone has been jointly developed by AVIC Chengdu Aircraft Industrial (Group) Co Ltd and Tsinghua University, the AVIC said.
It achieved the breakthrough in integrated design of flight, control and propulsion of the aircraft, based on the output characteristics of hydrogen cells, the developer revealed.
The hydrogen drone completed the record flight in Dujiangyan in southwest China's Sichuan Province.
The core technology of the hydrogen-powered drone released this time was jointly developed by Aviation Industry Chengfei and Tsinghua University. The fuel cell system led by the Tsinghua University team has increased the power density to 600W/kg and the system efficiency to 55% through the lightweight stack design and low platinum-loaded catalyst technology, and has broken through the stability bottleneck in plateau low pressure and extreme cold environments.
A system featuring the hydrogen drone mounted on the roof of an unmanned car was used for the take-off process. The drone took off from the moving car and managed a successful demonstration of a take-off application scenario via a non-standard runway.
In fact, China has made considerable progress in the field of hydrogen drones. We have selected several of the most representative hydrogen drones that have been reported by China's official media. These include the hydrogen drone with the largest payload, and the hydrogen drone with the longest working range. These products show that China has reached a world-leading level in the research and development of hydrogen drones and is about to enter the commercialization stage. Manufacturing capacity building plan of major companies will also be introduced.