<title>Fuel cell systems for long duration electric UAVs and UGVs</title>

Abstract

Protonex is a leading provider of advanced fuel cell power systems for portable, remote and mobile applications. Protonex has been working on optimizing longer endurance of PEM fuel cell systems for applications such as small UAVs and UGVs. These applications require power systems with high specific energy (Wh/kg). Within the 100-1500 watt power range, we have shown that fuel cell systems can outperform battery systems by a factor of 2-8x. Integration of fuel cell power systems into these platforms can provide significant additional mission capabilities for military and civilian applications. The performance benefit over incumbent power technologies is leading to significant near term product opportunities. Protonex has developed advanced power sources based on fuel cell-battery hybrid systems that outperform existing battery technology by several factors. Our advanced power systems have been demonstrated in a variety of existing and experimental platforms including AeroVironment's Puma UAV, Foster-Miller's Talon UGV, NRL's Ion Tiger, and XFC UAVs.