The problem being addressed by UAV ENDURE II: UAV flight time is critical for several mission scenarios, as frequent recharging or refuelling limits the effective availability and service time, as well as range. This has thus far prevented the use of fully electric unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), since their performance scales unfavourably with the size/intensity of the UAV operation. Moreover, when small electric UAVs are massively deployed, and particularly in time critical mission, the handling and charging of many battery packs becomes a logistical problem. Thus, manned aerial platforms (helicopters and planes) or large (>25 kg) fixed-wing UAV systems,powered by internal combustion engines (ICE) have been the preferred option for long endurance missions such as monitoring and surveying. However, these large systems present high CAPEX and OPEX, mostly due to the oversized nature of these systems. The unique approach of UAVEndure II project is the combination of two technologies, namely small fixed-wing UAVs and fuel-cell power generation at a downsized scale and price not attempted before. The rationale is to harvest all the benefits of small electric UAVs, while having access to high endurance hitherto only possible with large aerial platforms propelled by ICE.
Impact on society: As UAV are gaining traction the applications are extended beyond the typical task of providing overview to being a central part of the future for logistics/transport, agriculture and environment etc. For the vision of an unmanned infrastructure this to become reality new propulsion technologies are needed. Without this the UAVs will never be able to fulfill the potential for green transition and job creation. The UAVEndure project will extend the flight time from minutes to hours.
The overall objective of UAV ENDURE II is to develop a novel propulsion technology that enable mini fixed winged UAVs to extend the range by a factor of 5-10.
During the final period of the project, it has become evident, that it has not been possible to produce a fully functioning hotbox with a fuel cell to fit the dimensions and weight of the drone. It has not been possible to reach the required production of Watt for the electrical system and furthermore it has proven difficult to create a hotbox with weldings, which could withstand the conditions, when the fuel cell is in operation. The final results of the project, however, do not change the fact, that there is still a large market potential for the small fixed-wing UAVs in combination with power generation from fuel cells.
The project has been a valuable learning experience for Sky-Watch, who has gained thorough insight into the possibilities for downsizing of their drones and knowledge about the fuel cell technology. For Kraftwerk, the project has provided a greater understanding of the technical challenges and issues, with addressing fuel cell production for small carriers, in this case a small fixed-wing drone.
During the final period of the project, it has become evident, that it has not been possible to produce a fully functioning hotbox with a fuel cell to fit the dimensions and weight of the drone. It has been difficult to reach the required watt output during tests due to issues with welding seams. The project has therefore not reached a level, where it was possible to integrate the fuel cell into a drone and perform full scale tests. The final results of the project, however, do not change the fact, that there is still a large market potential for the small fixed-wing UAVs in combination with power generation from fuel cells.
The project has been a valuable learning experience for Sky-Watch, who has gained thorough insight into the possibilities for downsizing and weight optimization of drone components and knowledge about the fuel cell technology. For Kraftwerk, the project has provided a greater understanding of the technical challenges and issues, with addressing fuel cell production for small carriers, in this case a small fixed-wing drone.
