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Hydroplane has installed a prototype of its hydrogen-electric powerplant in a Piper Cherokee.
U.S. startup Hydroplane is working with Enstrom Helicopter and uncrewed cargo aircraft developer Sabrewing Aircraft to incorporate hydrogen-electric propulsion onto their platforms with funding support from the U.S. Army.
Founded in 2020, Lancaster, California-based Hydroplane is developing a hydrogen fuel-cell powertrain for light aircraft, including rotorcraft and large cargo drones. A prototype has been installed in a Piper Cherokee but has yet to fly.
In May 2024, Hydroplane was a winner of the U.S. Army’s xTechSearch 8 competition, securing a small-business innovation research (SBIR) contract to develop a larger version of its powerplant for light helicopters and large cargo drones.
“We’ve developed a 480-kW peak power system which can be used as auxiliary power for a larger cargo drone. We have a relationship with Sabrewing,” Hydroplane founder and CEO Anita Sengupta told the H2-Aero conference in Long Beach, California, on April 2.
The system uses liquid hydrogen storage and high-voltage batteries to assist for vertical takeoff and landing. “That’s more appropriate for this particular power profile use-case,” she said.
“We also have another product that we’re developing, which is a helicopter primary propulsion system,” Sengupta said. This system produces 260-kW peak power, uses liquid hydrogen and provides auxiliary power to the helicopter. We are doing this in a partnership with Enstrom Helicopter.”
Under Phase 1 of the Army project, Hydroplane plans this month to demonstrate its fuel-cell powerplant driving a rotor. The test will use a 23-ft.-dia. gyroplane rotor “because that was a pretty good size,” she said. “Then we will enter Phase 2, hopefully, where we would do a flight test on either a large-scale drone or a helicopter.”
After completing the Army demonstration, and another project with the U.S. Navy on a hydrogen-electric ground power unit, Hydroplane plans to close its next round of funding. The goal is to raise the funding required to flight-test the hydrogen-electric powerplant on the Cherokee.
“As a small business with limited assets, we don’t like to endanger any of our hardware, so we keep it going until we get more money so we can build up a second unit, then we can flight-test that one,” Sengupta said.
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