by GRA (Posted Wed, 28 Dec 2016 17:48:12 GMT+7)
Via GCC:
Via GCC:
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2016/12 ... 8-nrl.htmlNRL completes first flight of UAV with custom hydrogen fuel cell with metal bipolar plates; leveraging automotive technology
Researchers from the US Naval Research Laboratory’s (NRL) chemistry and tactical electronic warfare divisions recently completed the first flight of the Ion Tiger unmanned air vehicle with a new hydrogen-powered fuel cell built in-house.
The NRL team designed and built a custom fuel cell system capable of up to 5,000 watts, using formed metal-foil bipolar plates, which saved space and weight. Ion Tiger flew with the new cell in September.The decision to move to metal bipolar plates allowed us to leverage a lot of know how from the automotive industry’s large investment in hydrogen fuel cells. Using the plates also enabled enhanced storage capabilities and weight savings that are critical for naval unmanned system applications.
—Dr. Benjamin Gould, NRL’s chief scientist on the project. . . .
