The XSUN and H3 dynamics, based in France, announced a collaboration to develop an autonomous air system with solar energy, hydrogen and batteries with integrated power management and able to navigate at low heights.
H3 Dynamics, A specialist in hydrogen aircraft, and XSUN, a developer of Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS), both based in France, announced a partnership in the field of solar hydrogen-electric UAS for low height flights.
Combining solar energy with hybrid electric fuel cell systems can enable improved fuel efficiency, which extends flight duration, while the companies save space and weight, the companies said in a statement.
A new energy management system that would optimize the production and use of the energy board was also emphasized in the statement. “While the sun is available, ultra-thin wing-integrated PV cells of solar energy contribute to the total power system, batteries offer peak power while taking off and a Geminiaturized hydrogen fuel cell system offers the most important cruise bag,” said the companies.
They also described a “micro-grid system” on board that could make endurance possible for heavier aircraft, such as electric vertical start and landing (VTOL), horizontal vertical start and landing (HTOL) and short start and landing aircraft (Stol) aircraft. There are no further details about the solar PV, fuel cell or battery technology.
XSUN, who launched a lightweight, fully electric, on solar energy driven drone a few years ago, said that as part of the line-up of the ‘next generation’ it will offer a ‘full ecosystem for solution’ to XSUN customers in Europe, the United States, Australia and the Gulf region. This includes a UAS of the solar hydrogen and a mobile hydrogen tank system, which can be used on site on site.
The earlier XSUN design was a tandem -sun wing -drone with a weight of 29 kg and a load capacity of 4 kg. The 400W Zonne -Arrays reportedly offered 12 hours of flight duration, with a distances of 600 km.
H3 Dynamics is a supplier of space and defense platform that stated that it has developed hydrogen-electric fuel cell systems in the last 15 years, both small air-cooled miniature systems and larger liquid-cooled systems, reaching the best power-to-weight benchmarks.
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