Hydrogen-Fueled Aircraft

[RandomDroneGuy]

This pilotless VTOL took its first hydrogen-fueled test drive

Instead of trying to make batteries better, researchers are using liquid hydrogen for alternative lightweight power.

mashable.com

 

[rotorwrench]

There's several more out there. I think electric hydrogen fuel cells and SAF turbines will lead the way vs battery power.
https://www.h2fly.de/

 

[PeterNSteinmetz]

What about the efficiency of making the hydrogen versus charging a battery?

 

[RandomDroneGuy]

What about the efficiency of making the hydrogen versus charging a battery?

I don't think it's really an issue if we're smart about it. It can be produced with no feedstock except water using waste or free energy (save for the cost of harnessing it).

The first two sources are wind and solar. Lysing water might be the most practical use of wind and solar because output fluctuations don't matter very much when you're just storing a gas.

Another free source of energy and feedstock for hydrolysis would be the steam and waste electricity from nuclear plants during non-peak hours. Nuke plants aren't load-sensitive, so there's no increase in fuel consumption with increased draw. So use all the "spare" electricity to lyse the steam using high-temperature steam electrolysis.