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Hybrid fuel-electric multicopter RPAS with 10 times more flight time than current solutions in the market

Periodic Reporting for period 3 - HYBRiX (Hybrid fuel-electric multicopter RPAS with 10 times more flight time than current solutions in the market)

Reporting period: 2020-07-01 to 2020-12-31

The purpose of HYBRiX project is to get the first hybrid fuel-electric drone ready for safe wide-scale production and commercialization in close collaboration with end-users, and to boost its impact on the global market.
HYBRiX solves a key problem in the market: the insufficient endurance of electric multirotors for professional applications. Its novel hybrid fuel-electric system provides 10 times more flight time than its alternatives, unlocking the benefits of drones for commercial applications, such as first response, civil protection or infrastructure monitoring.
Instead of having to use a big manned helicopter for those operations, now it is possible to accomplish equivalent results with a solution 90% more affordable, 40 times more efficient and of much faster deployment. This means a better service for society, with less pollution and a significant cost saving.
During the action, the SME will complete the development of the UAS in compliance with applicable regulation, pilot the solution in collaboration with relevant end-users and replicate it in the target markets.
During the first reporting period of the project, the requirements of the solution have been validated, the minimum viable product (MVP) has been completed, the tests for CE Marking and compliance with FAA regulation have been performed and relevant dissemination and communication actions have been carried out.
The company defined the production processes for scale-up, which were successfully piloted on small batches during the second periodic report.
The aircraft is already in operation at small scale with initial customers in 4 continents. The Local Police from Benidorm, for example, has been using HYBRiX for the last 18 months on first response and civil protection operations. Benidorm city has developed one of the most advanced regulations in the world for use of drones by first responders, to match HYBRiX capabilities and make the most of its advantages, with pioneer initiatives, like night operations.

In the beginning of 2020, Quaternium set the World Record of Endurance with an experimental version of HYBRiX multirotor, flying non-stop for 8 hours and 5 minutes. That is a revolutionary milestone that means almost 100% increase from the aircraft performance at the start of the project. That flight had an important impact in the industry and served as launching event for the new MVP of HYBRiX drone.

During the second half of 2020 (PR3), and despite the COVID restrictions, Quaternium performed a new Record of Endurance of over 10 hours of hovering flight, and completed a validated version of HYBRiX drone system, getting it ready for production scale-up. The dissemination activities of HYBRiX project have reached millions of people, with numerous appearances in all sorts of media, including national televisions and radio shows. And there are operational units of HYBRiX drone deployed in four different continents: Europe, America, Asia and Oceania.
HYBRiX drone is the first hybrid fuel-electric multirotor demonstrated in the world. Since the first results of the project were disseminated, drone companies all over the world have realized its advantages and an entire new category of drones is emerging globally. HYBRiX is the leading solution of that niche, in terms of performance, quality and safety, and we expect to lead it in market share as well once the product is ready for wide commercialization by the end of the project.
Hybrid fuel-electric drones are expected to lead the market of commercial multirotors in the near future, due to their disruptive advantage in endurance, and our company expects to expand HYBRiX leadership globally, fostering direct and indirect employment and driving economic growth to the European Union.
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