Intelligent Energy is a British company whose objective is to provide advanced and efficient power sources, especially fuel cells.
It has been developing such technologies since its establishment in 2001, when it acquired Advanced Power Sources LTD, a company composed of researchers from Loughborough University (UK).
The main interest of the Loughborough University research and development team (which subsequently became Advanced Power Sources LTD), as well as that of the present-day Intelligent Energy was and is the development of Proton Exchange Membranes (PEM) fuel cells.
But the company’s academic-born past and its cutting edge technology focus means it’s interested in developing more efficient fuel cells in other domains as well, with the company holding more than 400 patents submitted or awarded by now.
For which they have prototypes or intend to develop them soon.
Like, for example, the new Intelligent Energy drone fuel cell which they recently announced.
It is a hydrogen fuel cell which can extend drone flight-time from the approximately 20 minutes that most drones are capable of today to hours.
Intelligent Energy have also promised that their upgrade will reduce charging time from the 1-2 hours usually required to mere minutes!
These results were achieved after 14 months of experimenting with drones in two power configurations: fuel cells and hybrid power systems consisting of a battery and a fuel cell that constantly charges that battery.
Both systems performed very well, and clearly better than the currently used ones which rely only on a battery.
The company said they will keep testing between these two systems to decide which is the most efficient and desirable overall.
The best part? The hydrogen fuel cell tested in both systems works by a chemical process which convert hydrogen into electricity. And there’s only one “waste” to this conversion: water! So, no pollution takes place with Intelligent Energy’s fuel cells.
Still, although the hydrogen battery is energy efficient and reliable, there is a tiny downside. It is not currently very good at quickly pumping the energy burst required when the flight conditions change quickly, for example in the case of a strong gust of head-wind that the drone might experience suddenly.
That’s why the company is testing the hybrid system as well, in which the conventional battery would compensate in such cases.
Still, if they are not ruling out the possibility of solving this minor problem and in the end presenting a solely hydrogen fuel cell powered version.
More information on these developments will be given by Intelligent Energy at the CES (Consumer Technology Association) meeting in 5-9 January in Las Vegas.
So, if you’re a drone owner you might want to follow-up on that.
Image source: 1.
