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AIST:Research Highlights, Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Drone Capable of Long-term Flight

Materials and Chemistry

Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Drone Capable of Long-term Flight

SUMI Hirofumi
Innovative Functional Materials Research Institute

Released: June 15, 2020

A drone was equipped with an LPG-powered fuel cell, enabling to fly for an hour or more

A high-power, lightweight, internal reforming solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) that operates on liquefied propane gas (LPG) was developed for drones with large power load fluctuation. A drone that uses this SOFC as a power source to enable long-term flight and work was demonstrated for the first time in the world.
This system uses internal reforming SOFC technology developed by AIST, and can use commercially available LPG cartridges as fuel gas.

SOFC drone during flight test

Drones that fly using secondary batteries have flight durations of around 15 to 30 minutes

Lithium-ion polymer (LiPo) secondary batteries commonly installed as drone power sources have a small energy density per unit weight, so flight and work durations have remained around 15 to 30 minutes. The power consumption of drones is proportional to the weight, so many secondary batteries cannot be installed, and there is the issue of even shorter flight and work durations when carrying heavy objects such as cargo for logistics or measuring instruments for infrastructure inspections. Furthermore, in the event of a disaster, it may be difficult to secure a charging power supply, with the result that secondary batteries become unusable. AIST has demonstrated a "Handy Fuel Cell System" SOFC that can generate electricity using easy-to-carry LPG cartridges (main component: butane) (2013). In addition, AIST in collaboration with Atsumitec Co., Ltd. developed a Compact High-Power Fuel Cell System with improved SOFC power output and durability (2017).

Combined use of an LPG-powered SOFC and secondary batteries enables power output control in accordance with drone power load fluctuation, and realizes long-term flight and work

With the support of NEDO, a drone was developed that supports payloads of up to 30 kg by combining a drone made by Prodrone Co., Ltd. and an LPG-powered SOFC system. (Project title: Drones and Robots for Ecologically Sustainable Societies project [DRESS project])

Planar-type cells were adopted to increase the SOFC stack power output, and the separator shape and other parts were modified to reduce the weight. As a result, the weight per output power was reduced by 60% compared to the SOFC system announced in 2017, which realized weight reduction on the order of several kg with corresponding power saving. In addition, integrating the SOFC and LiPo secondary battery into a hybrid power supply system and optimizing output power control provided prospects for achieving long-term flight over one hour.

Aiming for commercialization of SOFC drones

In order to realize even longer drone flight, we will improve the hybrid power supply system, for example, higher power output and lighter SOFC system for the earlier commercialization of SOFC drones that can be used in fields such as logistics, infrastructure inspections, and disaster response.

Contact for inquiries related to this theme

Solid State Ionics Materials Group, Innovative Functional Materials Research Institute

SUMI Hirofumi, Senior Researcher

2266-98 Anagahora, Shimo-shidami, Moriyama-ku, Nagoya, Aichi 463-8560 Japan

E-mail: M-webmaster_ifm-ri-ml*aist.go.jp (Please convert "*" to "@".)

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