Intelligent Energy fuel cell products to fly a DJI M600 for two hours
Loughborough – Monday 14th October: Intelligent Energy announced today that it plans to showcase its class-leading, lightweight Fuel Cell Power Modules for UAVs at a number of private flight demonstrations to commercial fleet operators. Using a DJI M600, the world’s best-selling commercial UAV, the Company will showcase up to two hour flight times using fuel cells.
The invite-only flight demonstrations will be held in the Bay area, California; Tokyo, Japan; South Korea and selected locations across Europe over the coming few months. The demonstrations will give potential customers the opportunity to see the fuel cell technology in operation and to speak to the Intelligent Energy team. Customers will be guided as to the right configuration required for their UAV fleet as well as providing information on refuelling and cylinder options.
The demonstrations will present Intelligent Energy’s range of fuel cell power modules (FCPMs). An example configuration will be flown using two 800W FCPMs which will be linked in series using a Power Path Module (PPM) providing 1.6kW of continuous power to the UAV. This configuration enables powering of advanced multi rotor aircraft of c.15kg maximum take-off weight with payloads of up to 4kg and flight times up to 120 minutes. Replacing the battery system on your DJI M600 will provide up to 2.5kg payload capacity with a much longer flight time of up to 120 minutes.
In addition, the Intelligent Energy 2.4kW FCPM is designed for UAVs up to 25kg maximum-take-off-weight and allows for payloads of up to around 7kg, achieving a 120 minute-plus flight time.
Lee Juby, Chief Sales Officer at Intelligent Energy, said: “These events are being held in response to requests from potential customers who want to understand how they can transition and integrate fuel cell power products into their existing fleets. Customers understand the benefits but are not always sure how the technology could work for them.
“The first flight and meet the team event will be held in Sunnyvale, California next month. We will show a game-changing solution to power UAVs for three to four times longer than the equivalent battery power. We are flying the DJI M600 in this instance as it is widely used in the commercial UAV market, but our power products are also suitable for a number of fixed wing or VTOL UAVs where the gains in flight time are significantly longer again.
“We are currently the only fuel cell provider that can supply off-the-shelf power products to this market for this size UAV.”
The Company, which is built on 30 years of development in the automotive and aerospace markets, has been developing fuel cell solutions for the UAV market since 2015. Since this time the company has launched a portfolio of FCC and CE certified products, ranging from 650W up to 2.4kW of power and can offer flight times of over two hours depending on configuration and payload.
At this year’s AUVSI Xponential event in Chicago, Intelligent Energy launched its market leading 2.4kW product, which has been designed to power UAVs up to 25kg for up to two hours with a payload. In addition to the power modules, Intelligent Energy provides several accessories, such as the PPM which links products in series to generate a higher power output.
Intelligent Energy products have been used in numerous firsts for the UAV market including; a world record breaking flight time of over 12 hours with a South Korean customer and more recently they powered the first fuel cell UAV flight in Dutch aerospace.
If you are interested in attending one of our customer events, please contact sales@intelligent-energy.com to register your interest or book a slot. Places will be reserved on first come, first served basis.
For more information about the full product range, case studies and to view our latest video please visit www.intelligent-energy.com/products/UAVs
Examples of integration
M600 Configuration
Payload (kg)
FC Flight time (mins)
1600W FC system + 3L cylinder
2.5
41
1600W FC system + 4.7L cylinder
1.5
63
1600W FC system + 9.0L cylinder
0
118
2400W FC system + 4.7L cylinder
4.6
40
2400W FC system + 9.0L cylinder
3.0
82
2400W FC system + 11.0L cylinder
2.5
113
Notes to Editors:
About Intelligent Energy
Intelligent Energy is focused on the development and manufacture of its Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) fuel cell products for customers in the automotive, aerospace, generator, telecoms, materials handling and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) sectors. Intelligent Energy is built on 30 years of PEM fuel cell development. Following acquisition by Meditor Energy, part of the Meditor Group, in October 2017 Meditor has accelerated investment to facilitate further development and commercialisation of the technology and expansion of the product offering. The company is headquartered and manufactures in Loughborough in the UK, with additional offices and representation in the US, Japan, China and South Korea.
About Fuel Cells
Fuel cell technology is similar to battery technology in that individual cells are built up to give the desired power output. However, fuel cells do not run out of charge as batteries do and will produce power for as long as hydrogen fuel is provided to the cell. Hydrogen is readily available around the world, often generated using green energy.
Fuel cells are deployed in multiple applications where clean, lightweight, efficient and cost-effective power is required. Fast re-fuelling and zero emissions makes fuel cell technology the immediate choice for forklift trucks and warehousing. Fuel cells are common place in clean construction and backup power for critical telecoms. Powering UAVs with fuel cells allows three times the flying time, which gives significant advantages in applications such as aerial surveying and filming.
Zero emission hydrogen fuel cell technology will be preferred to battery technology in vehicles where rapid re-fuelling, high power and extended range are important. Typical fuel cell applications include SUVs, buses and trucks, along with smaller cars where a high availability is critical, e.g. taxis and shared vehicles. Over 13,000 fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) are on the road today. FCEVs are expected to be an integral part of the connected and autonomous vehicle (“CAV”) revolution over the coming years.
Fuel cells are expected to become a dominant technology in de-carbonised aerospace.