Hydroplane wins Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) funding from the U.S. Army for hydrogen fuel cell powerplant development for vertical lift applications

Hydroplane is delighted to announce receipt of a U.S. Army Phase 1 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract to further develop its hydrogen fuel cell powerplant for Army aerial vehicle electric propulsion.

“During this activity we will define performance and operational capabilities for Army use cases of our hydrogen fuel cell powerplant technology,” says Hydroplane CEO Dr. Anita Sengupta. “Hydroplane offers the Army the agility and innovation mindset only a small business can deliver, allowing us to bring future forward technology rapidly through research to production.”

Hydroplane won an xTechSearch 8 Competition in May 2024 for its proposal for a lightweight hydrogen fuel cell powerplant for mobile energy storage. This Phase 1 award will allow Hydroplane to work with the U.S. Army to outline the expected capabilities and performance of the powerplant and to conduct a prototype demonstration.

Hydroplane has already received two SBIR contracts from the U.S. Navy and two U.S. Air Force (USAF) Agility Prime Small Business Technology Transfer contracts. The company has also received a California Energy Commission CalTestBed voucher to conduct testing and accelerate commercialization, and raised private funds to develop from the ground up and demonstrate a hydrogen fuel cell based electric powerplant for aircraft.

Concurrently, development is well underway on Hydroplane’s modular hydrogen fuel cell powerplant for general aviation and advanced air mobility markets. The company’s novel electric propulsion powerplant will replace combustion-piston driven engines in currently certified, experimental, and future aircraft and in auxiliary power systems.