加氢5分钟 飞行1小时！氢能无人机在娄底试飞成功Hydrogen refueling in 5 minutes, flies for 1 hour! Hydrogen-powered drone successfully test-flown in Loudi

China Huasong Online, September 30 — Recently, Loudi Low-Altitude, a subsidiary of Hunan Low-Altitude Group, successfully completed the verification flight of the Zoomlion ZLHT-100 hydrogen-powered quadcopter drone at its resident takeoff and landing area, marking a substantial step forward in the application of hydrogen power in low-altitude economic equipment.

This drone is powered by a hydrogen fuel cell, has a maximum payload of 25 kilograms, an endurance of 60 to 90 minutes, and a maximum range of 40 kilometers. The on-site demonstration showcased not just an aircraft, but a complete hydrogen drone system: a full closed-loop of hydrogen production, storage, and utilization. With the supporting ground-based hydrogen production, storage, and high-pressure refueling systems, the drone can achieve autonomous flight.

Compared with conventional purely electric drones, this system brings two key breakthroughs. The first is flight duration: the drone's airborne time is increased from around 20 minutes to around 60 minutes without the need for external power, generating energy from water and sunlight, achieving 'self-sufficient energy and operational freedom.' The second is refueling speed: lithium batteries typically take 1 to 2 hours to fully charge, whereas hydrogen refueling can be completed in 3 to 5 minutes, making it more suitable for continuous operations.

In terms of application scenarios, this hydrogen-powered drone can be customized with task systems as needed, adapting to various scenarios such as logistics transport, photovoltaic cleaning, pipeline inspection, and material hoisting. It is particularly suitable for long-duration, continuous, and off-grid operations, providing a new power option for the logistics network at the end of the supply chain.

During the test flight, tasks such as cargo box hoisting, autonomous takeoff and landing, and status feedback were completed sequentially, verifying the off-grid long-duration and short-to-medium-distance cargo capabilities of this hydrogen-powered drone. It accumulated key data for mountainous area delivery and emergency dispatch, and laid the foundation for future large-scale applications.

Currently, Loudi Low-Altitude Aviation is planning a drone logistics route from Loudi to Changsha. Facing long-duration, continuous, and off-grid operational demands, the advantages of hydrogen-powered drones—long endurance, fast refueling, and clean energy efficiency—are expected to play an important role in regional logistics distribution.

Next, Loudi Low-Altitude Aviation will collaborate with equipment companies such as Zoomlion to convert the test flight data into scenario parameters, continuously expanding the regular use of hydrogen-powered drones in logistics distribution, emergency rescue, and agricultural and forestry material hoisting, promoting the transition of hydrogen-powered low-altitude equipment from test flights to commercial operations.

[Source: Huasheng Online]

[Editor: Jin Peng]