FC4DRONES

Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) can be used for a wide range of industrial and civil applications such as crop surveys, aerial photography and inspection of power lines and pipelines reducing risk, cost, and time. Fuel cell-based propulsion systems are outlined as a solution to extend mission endurance achievable with lithium batteries.

This project aims to design, realize and test in an operational environment a fuel cell based propulsive system and integrate it on an existent multirotor drone to extend the flight endurance provided by the battery pack. This task presents different challenges compared to fixed-wing drones, which has been the scope of most of the previous research.

Within the project different solutions will be explored in terms of power unit architecture, off- the-shelf fuel cell systems and hydrogen tanks and the Components Off-The-Shelf (COTS) that offer the best performance will be selected, purchased, tested and integrated on an existent multirotor drone.bility in indoor environments. The integrated system will be tested and validated at the San Pietro orchard, reaching a TRL 7, and obtaining a solution as close to the market as possible.

OBJECTIVES

The main objective of the FC4DRONES project is to design and implement a hybrid fuel cell power system for an existing electric drone used for commercial operations and test it under operational conditions.

Expected outcomes

  • The main expected results of the FC4DRONES project are listed below:
  • Flight time of the drone realised with the new hybrid fuel system longer than the flight time of the battery-powered drone
  • Refuelling time of the hydrogen-powered drone shorter than the recharging time of the battery-powered drone
  • Realisation of reliable digital twin models of the drone and fuel system
  • Realisation of a control unit to control the power produced by the subsystems of the power system (fuel cell and battery)

Project details

Title: Development and realisation of a hydrogen-powered multirotor drone demonstrator with Fuel Cel
Acronym: FC4DRONES
CUP: C19J24000490003
Funding Programme: Cascade funding calls of NODES Program, supported by the MUR – M4C2 1.5 of PNRR funded by the European Union – NextGenerationEU (Grant agreement no. ECS00000036).
Overall Budget: € 525,434.70 (funded: € 339,257.52)
MAVTech Budget: € 162,169.77 (funded: € 122,266.70)
Project Partners: DUMAREY Automotive Italia S.p.A.
Project Duration: 15.04.2024 – 30.09.2025