LANCASTER, Calif. - Hydroplane has demonstrated full rotor flight speed on its hydrogen fuel cell powered rotor transmission test stand, bringing hydrogen powered rotorcraft flight one step closer to reality, AviationPros reports. Continue reading original article.
The Military & Aerospace Electronics take:
17 July 2025 - Hydroplane in Lancaster, Calif., says that its hydrogen fuel cell powerplant is engineered to replace internal combustion engines in certified, experimental, and next-generation aircraft, as well as auxiliary power units. In addition to its current work with the U.S. Army, Hydroplane was named a winner of the 2024 xTechSearch 8 competition for its mobile hydrogen-based energy storage concept. The company has also completed prior SBIR contracts with the U.S. Navy and two with the U.S. Air Force under the Agility Prime initiative.
“This phase of the program was focused on validating both the performance and mission relevance of our lightweight hydrogen fuel cell powerplant for vertical lift and extended-range UAV/UAS operations,” said Dr. Anita Sengupta, CEO of Hydroplane. “Since the contract award last November, we’ve developed and tested a full-scale rotary wing testbed, integrating our electric-propulsion system with a rotor transmission and 23-foot rotor to achieve stable operation at flight-representative rotor speeds.”
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Jamie Whitney, Senior Editor
Military + Aerospace Electronics
