Norway team builds hydrogen drone to expand aerial inspection range

Researchers at SINTEF in Norway have developed a hydrogen-powered drone designed to overcome the limitations of battery-operated drones, specifically their heavy weight and short flight times. By using hydrogen fuel cells, these drones achieve much higher energy density, enabling them to fly for several hours and cover greater distances. The drones feature a simple tank-swapping system that allows operators to quickly replace fuel tanks in minutes, avoiding long battery recharge times. This innovation targets tasks that battery drones cannot handle, such as inspecting remote power lines where current solutions often require costly and dangerous helicopter missions. Despite the promising capabilities, the hydrogen drone faces challenges related to Norway’s harsh weather conditions. The fuel cell technology currently performs well only in fair weather and struggles with rain and freezing temperatures, which limits its use in winter monitoring tasks like avalanche and power outage surveillance. The SINTEF team is actively seeking partners to help weatherproof and winterproof the drone to ensure reliable operation year-round. If successful, these drones could significantly reduce risks to human pilots