Doosan DS30 (hydrogen drone)

2019: First trials

At the end of December 2019, the first tests of an unmanned aerial vehicle running not on lithium batteries, but on hydrogen fuel were held. The developers believe that such drones are the future of air travel.

For the timely delivery of health services, Skyfire Consulting, Doosan Mobility Innovation, the U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Health and other partners have joined forces to build a hydrogen-fueled unmanned aerial vehicle. As part of the test flight, the drone DS30 delivered 40 vials of drugs and other medical supplies from a test facility on Santa Cruz Island to a hospital on St. Thomas Island, flying 70km. The team monitored the flight by boat, along with the pilot who flew the drone throughout the entire two-hour flight. When the drone landed on the island, fuel remained in the tank for another 30 minutes of additional flight.

Doosan DS30 is the world's first hydrogen-powered drone

The Doosan DS30 is the world's first hydrogen-powered drone. The new technology provides longer battery life than conventional batteries and does not require long recharges. Specially designed 3D printed tanks prevent the spontaneous combustion of hydrogen. When planning the test flight, the team wanted to make the drone's task as easy as possible, so they decided not to program autonomous flight and not use third-party software. However, in the long-term plans, the company intends to create the necessary software.

By the end of 2019, the developers are preparing the basis: they check the controllability of the drone under various weather conditions, analyze deployment methods and assess the possibility of autonomous piloting. Ideally, the nurse should take blood samples in the hospital, fix them on a drone and receive a message an hour later that the drone delivered them safely to the laboratory.^[1]

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