Honeywell and DoE lab pair in drone hydrogen fuel project

Aerospace experts from US conglomerate Honeywell are teaming up with a division of the Department of Energy to devlop a compact form of hydrogen fuel storage designed specifically for longer-haul drone use.

Honeywell announced its partnership with the US Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to develop the prototype of a cartridge-based storage device for use in hydrogen systems on drones. The year-long effort looks to create clean, sustainable alternatives to limited-capacity lithium batteries on UAVs deployed for shorter enterprise or public purposes, and above all the hybrid or pure fossil-fuel power of craft flown for longer-distance or -duration missions.

In addition to advancing the foundational tech involved, Honeywell will also work with NREL peers in testing, prototyping, evaluation, supply chain, and eventual commercialization aspects of the drone hydrogen fuel concept they’ve previously collaborated on.

The more immediate goal, however, will be to qualify the innovation for the Fuel Additives for Solid Hydrogen (FLASH) Carriers in Electric Aviation project – a US government program supporting tech capable of efficiently storing and converting hydrogen to electrified power for aircraft.

Once operational, those systems will not only produce far longer drone flight capacities than lithium batteries, but equal those of fossil fuels – and without any destructive emissions to boot.

Katherine Hurst, an NREL senior scientist and group manager, says the unit’s partnership with Honeywell is an ideal manner of advancing work in hydrogen fuel power for aviation by focusing on the more attainable flight requirements of drones used in longer-haul missions.

“Today’s long-range drones are typically powered by internal combustion engines,” Hurst notes. “While they provide the required range that battery-powered electric UAVs lack, these engines have issues with excessive noise, vibration, and emissions, including carbon. This is an exciting opportunity to demonstrate the performance of hydrogen storage materials that we developed in our laboratory together with Honeywell to fuel a real-life flying vehicle.”

In their mutual efforts toward FLASH qualification, Honeywell and NREL experts will continue work on an outlier storage concept relying on a solid material that can rapidly release hydrogen gas for use by the fuel cell. Boasting a lower volume than alternative methods due to its high hydrogen capacity, that matter can also be used at lower temperatures than most –  around 100°C – and is considered adaptable to a wider range of drone and other aviation applications.

“This partnership with NREL is the latest example of how Honeywell is driving the future of sustainable aviation,” said Dave Shilliday, vice president and general manager of Honeywell Aerospace’s urban air mobility and uncrewed aerial systems division. “Hydrogen can offer significant advantages for electric vertical take-off and landing systems in terms of endurance and range… (and) significantly expand the possibilities of UAVs beyond the limitations posed by battery-electric powertrains.”