{"id":11913,"date":"2018-10-02T23:46:02","date_gmt":"2018-10-03T06:46:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cafe.foundation\/blog\/?p=11913"},"modified":"2018-10-02T23:59:14","modified_gmt":"2018-10-03T06:59:14","slug":"hes-element-one-could-fly-four-5000-kilometers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/cafe.foundation\/blog\/hes-element-one-could-fly-four-5000-kilometers\/","title":{"rendered":"HES Element One Could Fly Four 5,000 Kilometers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Horizon Energy Systems (HES)<\/a>, originally based in Singapore, has pursued lightweight hydrogen propulsion systems for the last 12 years, primarily for amall drones.\u00a0 Going larger, the company announced plans today for Element One, \u201cthe world\u2019s first regional hydrogen-electric passenger aircraft.\u201d<\/p>\n

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HES Element One will fly four on 14 hydrogen-powered motors<\/p><\/div>\n

A four-passenger, 14-motored (!) monoplane, Element One will carry the lucky foursome 500 to 5,000 kilometers (310 to 3,100 statute miles).\u00a0 This distributed power system claims \u201cvirtually no change to its current drone-scale systems,\u201d which is a little puzzling, considering the largest of such systems produces no more than 1,000 Watts.\u00a0 The scale of the Element One and its power packs is ambiguous, with illustrations showing a nine-axle trailer with attached solar panels ostensibly powering the on-site production of H2.<\/p>\n

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HES fueling station uses solar power to generate hydrogen, then stores it in easily swapped pods that plug into motors<\/p><\/div>\n

One illustration depicts a drone-launching site with fuel pods possibly approximating the size of the units that will be used on Element One.\u00a0 These are larger and their scale relative to the people in the illustration gives an approximation of their size.<\/p>\n

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H2 containers plug into power modules, appear to have controls for interaction with motor<\/p><\/div>\n

The pods are part of an autonomous refueling system developed by HES and its partner H3 Dynamics<\/a>, working from Aerospace Valley, an R&D center in France.\u00a0 They note, \u201cOne of H3 Dynamics’ divisions specializes in ultra-light hydrogen energy systems for aeronautical applications (drones), light mobility (soldier systems) or data capture in remote areas.\u201d\u00a0 This pairing has established partnerships with a wide variety of European firms, academic and industrial organizations.<\/p>\n

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Dedicated refueling trolleys will retrieve used fuel pods, insert freshly charged units<\/p><\/div>\n

That range will enable greater performance than that of other technologies, according to HES founder Taras Wankewycz.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s now possible to break past the endurance limits of battery-electric flight using HES\u2019 ultra-light hydrogen energy storage in a distributed propulsion arrangement.\u00a0 Element One\u2019s design paves the way for renewable hydrogen as a long-range fuel for electric aviation.\u201d\u00a0 Range will depend on whether the hydrogen is stored in liquid or gaseous form, according to HES.<\/p>\n

Much like other regional aircraft, Element One can open, \u201cnew aerial routes between smaller towns and rural areas using an existing and dense network of small-scale airports and aerodromes.\u201d\u00a0 As noted before in this blog, that vision parallels that of William T. Piper, who saw his Cubs and Tri-Pacers landing on grass fields all over rural America, connecting village and towns that would otherwise not have airline access.<\/p>\n

On the infrastructure front, HES partners with Wingly, a French startup offering \u201cflight sharing services for decentralized and regional air travel.\u201d\u00a0 Emeric de Waziers, CEO of Wingly, explains his firm\u2019s hopes in this new field.\u00a0 \u201cWe analyzed the millions of destination searches made by the community of 200,000 pilots and passengers on our platform and confirm there is a tremendous need for inter-regional transport between secondary cities\u201d, says. \u201cBy combining autonomous emission-free aircraft such as Element One, digital community-based platforms like Wingly and the existing high-density network of airfields, we can change the paradigm. France alone offers a network of more than 450 airfields but only 10% of these are connected by regular airlines. We will simply connect the remaining 90%.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Element One with solar-powered fueling support system<\/p><\/div>\n

To support that network of airports, \u201cHES announced its plans to begin associating on-site hydrogen generation with fuel cell powered unmanned aircraft across a network of hydrogen-ready airports, in preparation for larger-scale electric aircraft such as Element One. \u00a0HES is now in discussion with industrial-scale hydrogen producers to explore energy-efficient refueling systems using renewable solar or wind energy produced locally.\u201d<\/p>\n

With plans to fly it first aircraft in 2025, HES has time to develop a viable prototype, test it, and make that craft ready for production.\u00a0 Its plans are similar to that of the German HY4 flying into a \u201chydrogen-ready\u201d network of regional airports.\u00a0 Certainly, the expansion of solar-powered H2 in both countries will mean \u201cclean hydrogen\u201d could be a potent power source in the future.<\/p>\n