NPS receives Navy’s first hydrogen fuel cell-powered drone
The Naval Postgraduate School received the Navy’s first hydrogen fuel cell powered drone last month.
The drone is a six-rotor unmaned aerial system (UAS) called the “HYCOPTER.” The blade tip-to-blade tip has a diameter of 7 feet and it can fly for about 2.5 hours. Because it is powered by hydrogen gas and water vapor, it is energy-efficient and can fly longer than a battery-powered drone.
The HYCOPTER will be sued for the Naval Research Program. The project studies the feasibility of using compressed hydrogen as a power source onboard naval platforms. It could also be used in future research projects that need long-endurance aerial data collection.