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Honeywell brings UAM fuel cell expertise in house
Wednesday, 21 October 2020
After setting up a business dedicated to Urban Air Mobility, and opening a dedicated R&D lab, Honeywell has now acquired the assets of fuel cell manufacturer Ballard Unmanned Systems.

Honeywell has acquired the key intellectual property, inventory and equipment of Ballard Unmanned Systems, which designs and produces industry-leading, stored-hydrogen proton exchange membrane fuel cell systems that power unmanned aerial systems, and taken on its team of fuel-cell experts.

Fuel cells function much like traditional batteries but with a key difference: They don't run out of power or need to be recharged. A fuel cell uses the chemical energy of hydrogen or another fuel to cleanly and efficiently produce electricity. Unmanned aerial systems powered by fuel cells can fly longer distances, are quiet and have zero greenhouse gas emissions.

Ballard Unmanned Systems' fuel cell power systems can run up to three times longer than batteries and are five times more reliable than small engines. Furthermore, unlike traditional gas engines that have carbon emissions, they utilise hydrogen, a clean source of energy.

With the added capabilities of Ballard Unmanned Systems, Honeywell intends to introduce a family of fuel cell power systems for a variety of UAS vehicles. Honeywell will also collaborate with Ballard Power Systems on broader aviation applications.

Honeywell offers certification expertise as well as a full line of avionics, propulsion and operational systems for unmanned aircraft and UAM vehicles. In June, the company launched a business dedicated to UAS and Urban Air Mobility. Additionally, in September Honeywell opened a new research and development lab to demonstrate the company's technological capabilities in both hardware and software for the UAS and UAM markets.

"Adding Ballard Unmanned Systems to the Honeywell family is another example of our commitment to invest in the growing UAS segment," says Mike Madsen, president and chief executive officer, Honeywell Aerospace. "We can now begin producing top-quality, scalable power systems for our UAS customers and eventually adapt these systems for other future aerospace, defense and adjacent segment applications."

Contact details from our directory:
Honeywell Unmanned Aerial Systems and Urban Air Mobility (UAM) Airborne Communication Systems, Airborne Electrical Power Supplies, Automatic Flight Control Systems, Autopilots, Avionics Controls, Avionics Management Systems, Certification Services, Collision Avoidance Systems/TCAS, Cooling Systems, Electric Drives, Electric Motors, Electric Power Controllers, Electromechanical Actuators, Electronic Flight Instrument Systems, Engine Heat Exchangers, Flight Directors, Fly-by-Wire Systems, Pressure Altimeters
Ballard Unmanned Systems (was Protonex) Fuel Cells
Related directory sectors:
Electrical Power Systems