Prototype to be unveiled at CES 2016
Intelligent
Energy, the energy technology company, announced today it has
developed a prototype of a hydrogen fuel cell powered range extender for
drones. The range extender offers longer flight time and fast re-fuel
capabilities, addressing two of the biggest challenges for manufacturers
of battery-powered drones. Intelligent Energy will unveil its prototype
of the fuel cell range extender on a drone at CES 2016, January 6-9 in
Las Vegas. The company has been really encouraged by the positive
reaction from potential customers to this prototype.
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The lucrative market for commercial and enterprise drones is rapidly
growing. However it is currently held back by the short range and long
recharging times associated with batteries. By combining an ultra
lightweight fuel cell stack with a battery, Intelligent Energy’s range
extender offers up to several hours of drone flight time rather than the
typical 20 minutes maximum flight times seen today. In addition, fuel
cells can significantly reduce the downtime currently required for
recharging between flights – from one to two hours to an average of two
minutes.
“Drones are one of the most exciting new technologies. Even with
advanced batteries their value is limited. For commercial use, they need
to offer better flight times and range,” said Julian Hughes, Group
Business Development Director and Acting Managing Director for
Intelligent Energy’s Consumer Electronics Division. “That will all
become possible with the release of our range extender platform. A
longer flight time coupled with a quick re-fuel opens a wide range of
new commercial possibilities for businesses such as drones for
inspection of offshore platforms, search and rescue, high quality aerial
photography, precision agriculture and parcel delivery and more. Given
we also have the ability to tailor solutions to customer requirements,
this could completely revolutionize the potential of drone technology.”
In the last decade Intelligent Energy has worked with Boeing Phantom
Works to power the world’s first manned fuel cell aircraft in commercial
airspace and with Airbus for an auxiliary power unit. For the past 14
months it has independently tested drones with fuel cell and battery
hybrid systems. Flight tests were conducted on two configurations: one
solely powered by a hydrogen fuel cell, the other powered by a fuel
cell-battery hybrid system. A camera was operated on the test flights
and was found to record a steady image with no interruptions, a critical
feature for commercial drone use.
Intelligent Energy’s prototypical hybrid fuel cell drone range extender
will be shown at a special Intelligent Energy Embedded World event at
CES 2016. Attendees will get a first-hand look at the impact fuel cells
can have on devices, ranging from smartphones and tablets to drones.
Intelligent Energy will be introducing Embedded World at The Venetian
Hotel on Tuesday, January 5 - Saturday, January 9 in Las Vegas. To make
an appointment to discover how embedded fuel cells could power your
consumer electronics device or to view the prototype and speak to an
Intelligent Energy expert, please email: julian.hughes@intelligent-energy.com
or callie.mortimer@intelligent-energy.com
About Intelligent Energy
Intelligent Energy Holdings plc is an energy technology group which
develops efficient and clean hydrogen fuel cell power systems for the
global automotive, consumer electronics, distributed power and
generation markets – from powering zero-emission vehicles to compact
energy packs for mobile devices and stationary power units for the
always-on infrastructure.
Working with international companies, Intelligent Energy aims to embed
its technology in mass market applications to solve the challenges of
continuous power and productivity, by creating everyday energy solutions
to power people’s lives. The Group’s intellectual property and expertise
is based around proprietary fuel cell technologies, which are the
product of over 25 years of research and development. Its patent
portfolio includes more than 1,000+ patents granted and 1,000 patents
pending across over 400 patent families. The Group also maintains a
significant body of confidential know-how and trade secrets.
With its principal facility and headquarters in Loughborough, UK, the
company also has operations in India, Japan and Singapore, a commercial
office in Silicon Valley, USA and development facilities co-located at
the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission in Grenoble
and at NASA in Florida, USA. Intelligent Energy Holdings plc is listed
on the London Stock Exchange and has an ADR program in the USA (LSE:
IEH; ADR: INGYY).
More information on Intelligent Energy is available at Twitter,
YouTube
and LinkedIn.
Or visit http://www.intelligent-energy.com.
View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20151215005540/en/
Copyright Business Wire 2015
Source: Business Wire
(December 15, 2015 - 3:00 AM EST)
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