Fuel cell developer Protonex has announced plans to develop a robust, deployable pre-production fuel cell power system, designed for powering a small, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that will be capable of extended flight duration and mission endurance.
The work will be completed under an awarded $3.3million contract ($2.2 million base award with a $1.1 million option) from the US Department of Defense (DoD) and will draw on continuing developments by Protonex of its unmanned power systems and UAV technologies.
Under the terms of the contract, Protonex will customise one of its fuel cell power platforms and integrate it into development partner, AeroVironment's 'Puma-AE' UAV. The resulting UAV, powered by the Protonex fuel cell power system, is expected to enable new long-duration missions, not previously feasible with hand-launched UAVs powered by advanced batteries.
Dr Paul Osenar, Protonex’s chief technology officer, said: “This contract represents yet another significant milestone on our path towards the full commercialisation of our power systems for UAVs and is a culmination of our development and demonstration efforts to date.”
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