After 90 minutes of continuous flight, a drone with a wheelbase of 1.6 meters and a take-off weight of nearly 25 kilograms landed smoothly on the lawn in front of the research building of the Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics Hangzhou International Campus. This was the test scene of the "Tianmu Mountain No. 1" hydrogen-powered long-range multi-rotor drone (hereinafter referred to as "Tianmu Mountain No. 1") on the afternoon of August 26.
Xu Weiqiang, chief scientist of the "Development and Application of High-Performance Airborne Hydrogen Power System" project of Tianmu Mountain Laboratory and chief designer of "Tianmu Mountain No. 1", introduced that this is the world's first 100-kilometer-class hydrogen-powered multi-rotor drone. It has now entered the small-scale production stage and has ultra-long endurance, ultra-low temperature adaptability and zero-carbon environmental protection characteristics.
Industrial drones powered by lithium batteries generally have a flight time of less than 1 hour at normal temperature, a flight radius of only a few kilometers, and a "discount" in low-temperature environments.
Compared with lithium batteries, hydrogen fuel cells have the advantages of cleanliness, wide temperature range, and high energy density. Powering with hydrogen fuel cells is regarded by the industry as an effective solution to the pain points of the industrial drone industry.
Tianmushan Laboratory is an aviation Zhejiang Provincial Laboratory approved by the People's Government of Zhejiang Province. It is an innovative source of support for Zhejiang Province to build a strong civil aviation province at a high level and create a highland for low-altitude economic development. Since the project of developing "Tianmushan No. 1" was established in 2022, Xu Weiqiang has led the team to carry out technical research on airborne hydrogen power systems with high energy density, high power density, and high and low temperature adaptability.
Xu Weiqiang introduced that "Tianmushan No. 1" adopts an integrated lightweight carbon fiber fuselage, with an empty weight of 19 kg, a maximum load weight of 6 kg, and a maximum endurance of 4 hours. Its long-range power comes from the team's completely self-developed hydrogen power system.
"In terms of material ratio process, lightweight design, etc., the team has done a lot of work on the research and development of hydrogen power systems." Xu Weiqiang said that the hydrogen power system consists of hydrogen fuel cells and hydrogen storage devices. The air-cooled fuel cell stack used has a maximum energy density of more than 1000 Wh/kg, which is about 5 to 6 times that of lithium batteries, greatly improving the endurance of drones.
Previously, "Tianmu Mountain No. 1" has undergone several tests, such as flying continuously for more than 100 minutes in an environment of minus 40 degrees Celsius in Genhe, Inner Mongolia in January this year, and completing continuous flight tests in a low-oxygen environment in a plateau above 4,500 meters above sea level in Linzhi, Tibet in August.
It is worth mentioning that "Tianmu Mountain No. 1" is also the world's first mass-produced hydrogen-powered drone with an integrated parachute design. When an accident occurs during flight, the parachute will automatically pop out to improve the safety and reliability of the drone.
In March this year, "Tianmu Mountain No. 1" carried out a demonstration operation of natural gas pipeline leakage inspection in a place in northern Shaanxi. During this period, "Tianmu Mountain No. 1" carried multiple payloads and flew for more than two hours on the undulating Loess Plateau, inspected 50 kilometers continuously, and detected hidden dangers at individual points.
"During inspections, drones cannot fly too high or too fast, and need to fly in a similar way to the terrain. This flight mode has high requirements for battery life." Xu Weiqiang said that according to the traditional inspection method, workers need to drive to the foot of the mountain, and then inspect in groups and sections after climbing the mountain, which is costly and inefficient. Now this work can be completed by operating only one drone.
In response to the long-distance and large-area operation needs of industrial drones, drone nests are born. However, the coverage radius of a single nest is usually several kilometers, and the construction density needs to be increased to expand the operating range.
"Tianmu Mountain No. 1" has the technical capabilities of one-button autonomous take-off and landing and 100 kilometers of beyond-visual-range continuous operation, which has changed the application mode of traditional industrial drones. It has been demonstrated and applied in many scenarios such as oil and gas exploration, power inspection, emergency rescue, forest protection, and water conservancy monitoring. Especially in continuous long-distance operations and high-cold conditions in the north, it has broad market promotion and application prospects.
Based on this achievement, the project team has registered a company and is conducting in-depth docking with central and state-owned enterprises. It will further promote the industrialization of this achievement in Zhejiang. The existing production line can achieve an annual output of 300 "Tianmu Mountain No. 1" units.
