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SAE TECHNICAL
PAPER SERIES 2007-01-3930

Development of a Small Long Endurance

Hybrid PEM Fuel Cell Powered UAV
Christopher Herwerth, Charles Chiang, Alan Ko,
Shigeru Matsuyama, Sang Bum Choi and Maj Mirmirani
Multidisciplinary Flight Dynamics and Control Laboratory,
California State University, Los Angeles

Dustin Gamble, Ryan Paul, Valentin Sanchez and Andrew Arena

OSU Aerospace Design, Oklahoma State University

Arthur Koschany, George Gu, Taras Wankewycz and Placido Jin

Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies, Shanghai

AeroTech Congress & Exhibition

Los Angeles, California
September 17-20, 2007

400 Commonwealth Drive, Warrendale, PA 15096-0001 U.S.A. Tel: (724) 776-4841 Fax: (724) 776-0790 Web: www.sae.org
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2007-01-3930

Development of a Small Long Endurance Hybrid PEM Fuel Cell

Powered UAV
Christopher Herwerth, Charles Chiang, Alan Ko, Shigeru Matsuyama,
Sang Bum Choi and Maj Mirmirani
Multidisciplinary Flight Dynamics and Control Laboratory, California State University, Los Angeles

Dustin Gamble, Ryan Paul, Valentin Sanchez and Andrew Arena

OSU Aerospace Design, Oklahoma State University

Arthur Koschany, George Gu, Taras Wankewycz and Placido Jin

Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies, Shanghai

Copyright © 2007 SAE International

ABSTRACT An uninhabited air vehicle (UAV) can be defined as an

A polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cell
powered uninhabited air vehicle using compressed
hydrogen, is being developed by California State
University, Los Angeles in collaboration with Oklahoma
State University and Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies. A
150-Watt PEM fuel cell, augmented by a 60 Watt, 350-
mAH lithium ion battery pack, powers an
aerodynamically efficient composite airframe
constructed of carbon and fiberglass. The battery
provides additional power for takeoff and climb while the
fuel cell powers cruise conditions. The UAV has an
overall weight of 5 kg and a 4-meter wingspan. A test
flight is scheduled for September, 2007 with the goal of
achieving a world record flight time of 16 hours for this
class of UAV.
INTRODUCTION
OBJECTIVE
Objectives of this project include the integration of the
emerging technology of a proton exchange membrane
(PEM) fuel cell into a small uninhabited air vehicle (UAV)
and to demonstrate the endurance capabilities of
hydrogen fuel cell powered flight. An attempt will be
made to break the world record for endurance in the F-5
category for radio controlled electric powered flight as
documented by the Federation Aeronautique
Internationale (FAI) category for electric powered aircraft
weighing less than 5 kg.
BACKGROUND
aircraft without an onboard human pilot, and is either
remote controlled or controlled with an autopilot.
Autonomous control using GPS and computer
programming is frequently employed on advanced
systems. A UAV is a reusable aircraft; it performs
takeoff, cruise and landing maneuvers. Expendable
flight vehicles and projectiles such as missiles and
artillery shells are not considered as UAVs (US DOD 1).
The definition of a UAV has evolved throughout its flight
history. Early UAV’s date back before the Wright
Brothers as airplane designers such as Felix Du Temple
de la Croix flew unpiloted models of their aircraft
(Newcome 10). Some early terms used to define
uninhabited aircraft include flying torpedo, drone, target
drone and remotely piloted air vehicle (RAV). Many
derivations of UAV’s exist today such as micro air
vehicle (MAV) and unmanned combat air vehicle
(UCAV). In 2005, the United States Department of
Defense defined Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) to
incorporate the important support systems that are
essential to complex UAV’s such as Global Hawk and
Predator. Frequently, UAV’s require significant ground
control stations and airborne or satellite communications
relays. These additions justify the use of the newer term
of UAS as there is an increasing need to share
commercial airspace with UAVs and the Federal
Aviation Administration guidelines will have to be
followed as UAV’s increase in number and flight time
(US DOD 5). For this project, the term UAV was used
as radio control was used in a line of sight control
system.
Since the first fuel cell powered micro air vehicle was
flown by AeroVironment in 2003, several other fuel cell
powered UAVs have demonstrated fuel cell powered
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flight (US DOD 30). The Naval Research Laboratory
has flown a 100 Watt PEM fuel cell UAV with several
hours of flight time. AeroVironment has also
successfully flown a prototype of their Global Observer
UAV, which uses eight fuel cell power plants and liquid
hydrogen storage to increase endurance (Jean 1).
Georgia Institute of Technology has test flown a small
500 Watt fuel cell UAV (Moffitt 1). Similarly, California
State University, Los Angeles demonstrated fuel cell
UAV flight with a short two-minute flight with a 500-Watt
fuel cell from Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies (Herwerth
2). The German Aerospace Center (DLR) recently
demonstrated fuel cell powered flight using a ducted fan
in their Hyfish UAV (Brent 1). Recently, AeroVironment
modified their successful Puma UAV and flew for 5
hours under a hybrid fuel cell and battery power. That
project was in conjunction with Protonex Technology
Corporation and Millennium Cell Inc. (AeroVironment 1).
Advantages of fuel cell powered flight include higher
efficiencies of electric motors and the fuel cells that
power them. Additionally, fuel cells will operate for as
long as there is fuel and oxygen to supply the reactants
for the chemical process to create electricity. Therefore,
the endurance of the flight is limited to the amount of fuel
that can be stored on board the aircraft.
A major challenge to fuel cell powered flight is that the
mass specific power of fuel cells is relatively low
compared to other forms of aircraft propulsion.
Currently, fuel cells can produce up to one kw/kg in
electric power per mass of the fuel cell stack (US DOD
54). The Department of Defense (DOD) predicts a large
increase in fuel cell power density in the near future so
that there is some possibility of an increased importance
of fuel cell powered flight.
There are a number of different fuel cell types including
alkaline fuel cells (AFC), direct methanol (DMFC),
Phosphoric acid (PAFC), solid oxide (SOFC), molton
carbonate (MCFC) and proton exchange membrane
(PEM) fuel cells. These fuel cell types are used in a
variety of applications, for example, alkaline fuel cells
were used by NASA in the Apollo space vehicles for
onboard power (Larminie 15). A PEM fuel cell was used
for this long endurance UAV project partly because of its
low temperature operation. Fuel cells are an energy
conversion device that converts the chemical energy of
the fuel into electrical energy. In the case of a UAV, the
electrical energy can then be turned into mechanical
energy to produce thrust by the use of a propeller. PEM
fuel cells typically use hydrogen as the fuel and uses
oxygen from air for the reaction.
DESCRIPTION OF THE LONG ENDURANCE
FUEL CELL UAV
The Long Endurance Hybrid Fuel Cell UAV was named
Pterosoar because of its large wingspan and the
intention of using thermal soaring to increase the
endurance of the UAV. There are several important
components to the Long Endurance Fuel Cell Powered
UAV project, Pterosoar. An understanding of the fuel
cell power plant was critical to the design of the UAV.
The weight of the fuel cell power plant as well as the
operation of the fuel cell determined the overall
configuration of the UAV. Systems integration of the fuel
cell components and hybrid circuit aspects and flight
strategies were also important to the successful design
of Pterosoar.
MISSION
To design and build a remotely piloted UAV that is
powered by a hydrogen PEM fuel cell for demonstrating
long endurance and long-range flight capabilities. The
mission profile includes a hand launch takeoff, climb, a
cruise/loiter pattern. The flight will terminate with a belly
landing.
AIRCRAFT DESCRIPTION
The Long Endurance Fuel Cell UAV has a wingspan of
4.4 meters and a chord length of 21 cm. The aspect
ratio is 21. Gross take off weight is 5 kg with the fuel cell
power plant system weighing 3.0 kg. The fuel cell power
plant includes the fuel cell stack, electronic controller,
motor, storage tank and the weight of the hydrogen.
The UAV resembles a powered sailplane and is
intended to utilize thermal soaring techniques. The
wings are shaped by an Martin Hepperle, MH 114, airfoil
and include poly-taper and poly-dihedral geometry.
Figure 1 shows an isometric view of a CAD model of
Pterosoar.
Figure 1: CAD model of Pterosoar.
The wing area is 0.93 m2. The wing loading is 5.4 kg/m2
and compares favorably to historical trends for a
sailplane (Raymer 95). The Pterosoar UAV was
designed so that the airframe could be dismantled into
four sections for ease in handling, loading and
transportation. The wing is joined at three locations: the
center of the wing through the fuselage and at each
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poly-dihedral break. The center joint is a commercial
graphite joiner tube and sleeve. At each poly-dihedral
break, there is a custom molded c-channel graphite
joiner. The entire UAV was designed as an all-composite
structure molded of carbon fiber, fiberglass and aramid.
The UAV incorporates a 5-g structural design limit in
order to withstand wind gusts and maneuvering loads
during thermal soaring.
Control surfaces for Pterosoar include an elevator and
rudder. The poly-dihedral wing is designed for stability
during sideslip turning and a weight margin was
reserved in the event that ailerons were determined to
be necessary. The outer wing segments can be
separated at the poly-dihedral connection and the
dihedral angle can be changed by machining new c-
channel graphite joiners with a different mounting angle.
Similarly, the outer wing segments can be replaced with
wing segments that include ailerons. This design allows
pilot feedback to be incorporated during initial flight-
testing.
The poly-dihedral, poly-taper wing was designed as a
high mounted wing and the fuselage was designed to
aid the streamlined flow of air over the wing. Figure 2
shows a side view of the UAV.
Figure 2: Side view of Pterosoar
Attention was paid to the spiral dynamic mode of the
UAV, which is a critical mode for RC pilots flying through
thermal updrafts. Since the low drag of the UAV makes
it possible to build up speed quickly during thermal
soaring, minimizing the spiral mode was important. This
was accomplished with the poly-dihedral wing and is
enhanced with the ability to change the poly-dihedral
angle if necessary.
The diameter of the hydrogen storage tank determined
the cross sectional profile of the fuselage and special
care was taken in the tank selection process to ensure a
relatively slender design. Air inlets were included in the
fuselage to supply oxygen to the fuel cell as well as for
cooling purposes. The fuel cell, fuel cell control unit,
cooling fan and the tank were arranged longitudinally
inside of the fuselage to minimize fuselage cross
sectional area. Figure 3 shows the fuselage with the air
inlet and outlet locations. The inlet appears sealed in
the CAD model but are intended to be permanently open
to free stream air.
Figure 3: CAD model of the fuselage showing the
location of the air inlet and outlet ducts.
No landing gear was included in the design in order to
minimize weight and drag during flight and folding
carbon propellers were used so that the propeller would
not be damaged during belly landing.
FUEL CELL DESCRIPTION
The propulsion system, which includes the fuel cell, the
fuel cell balance of plant (including storage tank), electric
motor and propeller, has an energy density of 340 Watt-
hour/kg while the fuel cell storage system has an energy
capacity of 1022 Watt-hours. Special care was given to
limiting the fuel cell propulsion system to 3 kg so that the
overall weight of the UAV could be kept under 5 kg.
For clarity, we define the propulsion system of the
Pterosoar UAV to include the electric motor, propeller,
electronic speed controller and fuel cell power plant.
The fuel cell power plant includes the fuel cell stack,
cooling fan, electronic control unit, hydrogen storage
vessel, two pressure reducers, hydrogen gas tubing,
solenoid purge valve, shut off valves, wires and lithium
polymer battery. The fuel cell power plant is actually a
hybrid fuel cell/battery system. Since the battery will
contribute power primarily during takeoff and emergency
cruise conditions, the power plant will be referred to as a
fuel cell power plant but it should be understood that it
includes the hybrid battery.
The fuel cell power plant includes a polymer electrolyte
membrane (PEM) fuel cell stack of 25 individual cells.
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The fuel cell was designed and constructed by Horizon
Fuel Cell Technologies, specifically for the Long
Endurance Fuel Cell UAV (Pterosoar) project. Figure 4
shows the PEM fuel cell.
Figure 4: Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies PEM fuel cell.
The individual cell voltage is 0.67 volts Multiplying 0.67
volts times 25 cells yields a 16.75 Volt nominal voltage
output. The efficiency of the fuel cell is 48.2% before
losses due to ohmic effects. The efficiency calculation
uses a fuel utilization coefficient of 0.9 and the lower
heating value (LHV) voltage of hydrogen. The maximum
electro motive force (EMF) that is possible is given by
the following equation (Larminie 34).
 'h f
E stack. The air that is drawn through the stack acts as
2F
In this equation, E is the maximum possible voltage if all
of the enthalpy of formation, -ǻhf, were transformed into
electrical energy. F is Faraday’s constant or the charge
on one mole of electrons and is equal to 96,485
Coulombs. For hydrogen, E is equal to 1.25 volts when
the lower heating value of hydrogen is used for the
enthalpy of formation. The efficiency is then calculated
using the equation;
Vc 0.67
K Pf 100% 0.9 100% 48.2%
LHV 1.25
The symbol, µf is the fuel utilization coefficient and
represents the percentage of hydrogen that is reacted in
the fuel cell. This calculation of efficiency is for the fuel
cell only and does not include losses due to the
transmission of electrical energy, motor inefficiencies or
propeller losses.
Under nominal operating conditions, the fuel cell will
transmit 60 Watts of power to the electric motor. For 60
Watts, 16.75 Volts, the current output is 3.6 Amps. The
fuel cell will have a peak power output of 150 Watts that
will be utilized for take off. The peak power voltage will
be 14.8 volts at 150 Watts. Peak power voltage is lower
than the nominal operating voltage because as more
current is drawn from the fuel cell stack, the average fuel
cell voltage decreases. For efficient fuel cell operation,
higher voltage is desirable because less hydrogen is
required to provide power. The hydrogen flow rate can
be thought of as a measure of efficiency. An empirical
equation is used to calculate the hydrogen usage;
Pe kg
Hydrogen 1.05 x10 8
Vc sec
In the above equation, Pe is the power of the fuel cell
stack, which under nominal conditions is 60 Watts. Vc is
the individual cell voltage and is equal to 0.67 volts
under nominal operations. This equation indicates a
hydrogen flow rate of 0.67 liters per minute at normal
temperature and pressure (NPT). Normal temperature
and pressure is 20 degrees Celsius and 1.01325 bar.
For this flow rate, the fuel cell could operate for 17 hours
using 64 grams of stored hydrogen. A storage capacity
of 64 grams of hydrogen will be shown in the next
section. The 17 hours of operation includes losses due
to the cooling fan and electronic control unit operation
but does not include aerodynamic losses.
The fuel cell stack has a diameter of 78.5 mm and a
height of 100 mm. Cylindrical in shape, the fuel cell has
a hollow cylindrical center that allows an axial mounted
fan to draw air through the outer surfaces of the stack
into the hollow center cylinder and out the side of the
stack. Therefore, the surface areas of the individual fuel
cells are bounded by the inner and outer radii of the
both a reactant oxygen supply and a cooing air supply
for the fuel cell stack. The fuel cell stack operates at
about 60 degrees Celsius. Figure 5 shows an image of
the CAD model of the fuel cell stack that has been
manufactured by Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies.
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Figure 6: Composite pressure vessel for Pterosoar UAV.

Figure 5: CAD model of the fuel cell and control unit.
The 3.1-liter value refers to the volume of the tank if it
The fuel cell is self-hydrating and air-cooled and
were filled with an incompressible fluid. The tank weighs
therefore does not require additional water or water
1.65 kg and will be charged to a pressure of 300 bar.
pump. The fuel cell stack weight is therefore lower
The weight including the pressure reducers and the
(Koschany 1).
mass of hydrogen stored is about 1.95 kg. The pressure
vessel is constructed of an aluminum liner with carbon
The specific power of the fuel cell power plant is defined
fiber and fiberglass composite layers. The tank has a
as power divided by mass. For this calculation, the
factor of safety of 3.0 although a burst test was
mass of the entire power plant is incorporated into the
conducted by the overseas supplier. The test showed a
calculation. Since the mass of the storage tank depends
burst pressure of 1100 bar. Figure 7 shows the
on the amount of hydrogen that is desired for the
pressure vessel after failure.
mission, it is useful to calculate the specific power of the
fuel cell stack alone. For the fuel cell power plant,
including the hybrid battery;

Pfuelcell  Pbattery 210 W

SpecificPower 70
Mass 3 kg

For the fuel cell system without the battery;

Pfuelcell 150 W
SpecificPower 51.7
Mass 2 .9 kg

For the fuel cell stack alone;

Pfuelcell 150 W
SpecificPower 600
Mass 0.25 kg
Figure 7: Composite tank after burst test; 1100 bar.
HYDROGEN STORAGE
This tank will allow 65 grams of hydrogen to be stored.
While specific power is typically associated with the fuel The energy stored in the tank will be about 1022 Watt-
cell stack itself, the specific energy of a fuel cell power hours if used under 60 Watts of power and an average
plant is directly related to the amount of fuel that can be cell voltage of 0.67 volts.
stored on the UAV. For the Pterosoar UAV, hydrogen
will be stored as a compressed gas. A 3.1-liter tank was Figure 8 shows a comparison of composite tanks that
located from a overseas supplier and is shown in figure have a 300 – 310 Bar capacity. The graph shows tank
6. volume plotted against tank weight for pressure vessels
from two companies; Structural Composites Industries
(SCI) and MCS International.
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Pressure Vessels for Hydrogen Storage

10

7
Volume (L)

6
SCI Press Vessels
5 MCS Press Vessels
4
Pterosoar

0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Weight (kgs)

Figure 8: Trends for various composite pressure

vessels.
Figure 9: Fuel cell and pressure vessel with cooling fan
The Pterosoar pressure vessel appears to be a viable and control circuit board.
selection in terms of realistic expectations of weight and
volume for a given pressure requirement. At the top of figure 9, the axial cooling fan is attached to
the fuel cell. Below the fuel cell is the control circuit
Two pressure regulators are required to lower the board. The fuel cell is connected to the pressure
pressure from the initial 300 bar down to the required reducer via mounting hardware and the pressure
fuel cell pressure of about 0.34 bar. The primary reducer is screwed into the tank.
regulator is inline with the pressure vessel and will screw
in to the top of the tank. The primary pressure reducer Figure 10 shows the installation of the fuel cell and
will lower the pressure from 300 bar to about 10 Bar. pressure vessel into the fuselage. An access panel was
The secondary regulator will then lower the pressure to designed into the bottom of the fuselage to allow for the
0.34 bar and allows for accurate setting of fuel cell inlet removal of the fuel cell and pressure vessel in order to
pressure. fill the tank with hydrogen.

FUEL CELL INTEGRATION

Integration of the fuel cell system into the airframe of the

UAV is of high importance as the specialized
requirements of the fuel cell present several problems.
The fuel cell must have a supply of ambient temperature
air while fitting as tightly as possible into the streamlined
fuselage. As mentioned above air inlets have been
designed into the fuselage. The cooling fan of the fuel
cell will be vented out of the rear of the fuselage in order
to keep the fuel cell from overheating. The fuel cell will
be mounted to the pressure vessel. Figure 9 shows a
CAD model of the fuel cell and tank.

Figure 10: Fuel cell and tank mounted into the fuselage.

In order to maintain a high structural capability of

withstanding a 5-g load, the pressure vessel will be
strapped to the wings of the UAV rather than be fixed to
the fuselage. This allows the fuselage to be of lighter

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construction. Figure 11 shows how the tank and fuel cell
is strapped to the wings of the UAV.
Figure 11: Fuel cell, pressure vessel strapped to wing.
In figure 11 the nozzle section of the fuselage in
included in order to show the exit air duct from the inside
of the fuselage. Figure 12 shows a closer view of the
exit nozzle. The inlet and outlet openings were kept as
small as possible in order to minimize drag on the
fuselage. The axial fan has a maximum flow rate of 11
liters per minute and the inlet was sized to exceed this
flow rate by about 25%. Up to 11 liters per minute will
travel through the fuel cell by entering through the holes
on the cylindrical surface of the fuel cell stack and the
remaining air will by-pass the fuel cell and exit the
fuselage through the outlet nozzle.
Figure 12: Fuel cell and exit nozzle inside the fuselage.
An additional view of the fuel cell power plant installation
is shown in figure 13.
Figure 13: Fuel cell power plant installation with
fuselage hidden.
FLIGHT STRATEGIES
Since the flight mission includes setting a world record
for endurance for an aircraft weighing less than 5 kg, a
flight time of greater than 15.5 hours is required. Since
the UAV will be radio controlled, some flight time will
have to occur under minimal lighting conditions. A pre
dawn take off time will likely be set in order to utilize as
much daylight as possible for the flight. Floodlights will
be used to illuminate reflective tape on the underside of
the UAV as dusk sets in at the end of the flight day. Ten
pilots will rotate flight responsibilities and will make use
of thermal gradients when possible. Unlike battery
power, the fuel cell stack cannot be shut off in flight, so
that even during thermal soaring, the fuel cell will be
using some small amount of hydrogen as the propeller is
feathered. Thermals will allow a conservation of fuel
and thus energy as the lower power output of the fuel
cell will mean lower hydrogen flow rate.
CONCLUSION
The highly efficient aerodynamic design and
construction of Pterosoar by Oklahoma State University
combined with lightweight fuel cell design from Horizon
Fuel Cell Technologies promises a high probability of
successful long endurance flight. The MFDCLab’s
experience with fuel cell integration and flight control will
be augmented by a team of experienced RC pilots. Fuel
cell power and hydrogen storage, aerodynamic design,
and experience with systems integration of fuel cell
components into fuel cell powered flight should allow for
a 13-hour fuel cell operation time. The use of thermal
soaring techniques is being counted on to add 3 hours of
additional flight time to the world record attempt. A flight
time of 16 hours is possible and a test flight is scheduled
for September 8, 2007.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Aerial Vehicle”, 44th AIAA Aerospace Sciences

This work is supported by NASA and Dryden Flight
Research Center under Grant # NCC4-158. Additional
funding was provided from the United States Air Force
Office of Scientific Research (AFOFR) and the National
Science Foundation (NSF) through the Aero Institute
Cooperative (AIC). Additional thanks go to Dr. Darrell
Guillaume, Dr. Chivey Wu, Mr. Burke Wu, Matthew
Walters and our chief test pilot, Jay Replogle.
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