During Xponential 2019, Intelligent Energy is launching its 2.4-kilowatt fuel cell power product for the commercial UAS market.

Over the last year and a half, Intelligent Energy has launched four products designed specifically for commercial UAS. The company says that these products provide technology to the constraints of battery power, offering minimum downtime and fast refuel, which makes them an attractive option for the commercial UAS market.

“Initially, we will be offering the 2.4kW to select customers with first deliveries planned for October 2019. The modules will then be made widely available to customers from early 2020,” says Lee Juby, chief sales officer at Intelligent Energy.

“This latest product can achieve much longer flight times, for example on a DJI M600 frame with a 11 litre 350Bar hydrogen cylinder, a retrospectively fitted 2.4kW FCPM could achieve a flight time of over 2 hours compared to just 25 minutes with its battery power pack.”

According to Intelligent Energy, two 2.4 kilowatt modules can also be linked in parallel to provide up to 4.8 kilowatts of power without the need for more hardware. The module provides the UAS with continuous power and is “hybridized” with a small battery to manage the peak loads.

While the module can be fitted onto several off the shelf frames, efficiencies and flight time can be optimized further still on a customized frame.

Intelligent Energy notes that recently, its 800 watt Fuel Cell Power Module was used to achieve a new Guinness World Record for the longest multi rotor flight time. During the flight, which was conducted by a South Korean company called MetaVista, a multi-rotor UAS flew for 12 hours, seven minutes and five seconds using liquid hydrogen to fuel the module. The previous record was two hours, six minutes and seven seconds.

Intelligent Energy will be at Booth 3413 during Xponential.