Development of a Liquid Hydrogen-Based Fuel Cell System for the HYDRA-2 Drone
Development of a Liquid Hydrogen-Based Fuel Cell System for the HYDRA-2 Drone
Date
2021
Authors
Boer, P.C. de
Wit, A.J. de
Benthem, R.C. van
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Netherlands Aerospace Centre NLR
Abstract
The aviation sector is actively pursuing a reduction to its environmental footprint.
Liquid hydrogen-based propulsion is one of the key innovative technologies that is
currently being explored. Before this technology can be introduced into the aviation
sector, several obstacles have to be overcome such as infrastructure, propulsion system,
and architecture of aircraft. To gain experience with the technology, NLR is currently
deploying a ground-based infrastructure and developing a flight platform to assist
research in this area. This paper discusses the development of the liquid hydrogen-based
fuel cell system for the HYDRA-2 flight platform. In particular, this work discusses the
design philosophy, material choices, relevant certification requirements for the LH2
storage tank and conditioning system. The remaining challenges and improvements of the
design are outlined as well.
Description
This report is based on a presentation held at the AIAA SciTech 2022
Forum, San Diego, CA & Virtual, January 3-7, 2022.