Aeropak fuel cell system could power UAV’s such as the Global Observer Aircraft 1001
18 August 2010 | Green Technology | No Comments
After working with Bluebird Aero Systems to offer the world’s first commercial long distance UAV (Boomerang), Horizon recently announced the launch of the world’s first commercial hydrogen fuel cell system for unmanned aerial vehicles. This new fuel cell system is called AEROPAK and it could be used on many UAV models, for both reconnaissance planes and surveillance planes.
This week, AeroVironment has tested at Edwards Air force Base in California, a new UAV called Global Observer Aircraft 1001 UAV. For now, this small plane works only on battery power, but the company has plans to convert it into a hybrid UAV. Maybe it will use the new AEROPAK fuel cell system developed by Horizon.
Using such a hydrogen fuel cell system, the Global Observer Aircraft 1001 will be able to fly for 5 to 7 days at heights of 55,000 to 65,000 feet. It will cover a surveillance area of up to 600 miles in diameter. Starting to implement such a technology, could lead to a major changing in our vehicles too, sooner than we think.
Tags: aeropak fuel cell, aeropak uav, AeroVironment uav, fuel cell uav, Global Observer Aircraft, horizon fuel cell, hydrogen fuel cell, hydrogen power