"Drone Mermoz" demonstrator
The demonstrator, with a wingspan of 4 metres, has a design inspired by the albatross, which exploits atmospheric turbulence to fly for very long periods of time while limiting its efforts. The “Défi Mermoz” has a long way to go, with the ambition of crossing the South Atlantic by 2025 on the legendary Aéropostale route between Dakar (Senegal) and Natal (Brazil), opened by Jean Mermoz.
A real challenge, indeed, for this future lightweight electric drone, with total autonomy and zero CO2 emissions. The aim of this exploit is to demonstrate the feasibility and reliability of this aircraft, powered electrically by an energy package combining fuel cells and photovoltaic panels, capable of flying over very long distances and light enough to enter the French certification category for out-of-sight flights.
Liquid hydrogen, a real technological leap forward
Hydrogen is one of the most promising energy carriers for decarbonising aviation. For drones, hydrogen-electric propulsion will first and foremost extend the performance of these aircraft by significantly increasing their range. This will reduce the costs of aerial activities that are currently expensive and time-consuming: searching for shipwrecked people at sea, surveillance of vast areas such as woodland to identify fire outbreaks, mapping missions or inspections of large linear networks (power lines, railways, gas pipelines, etc.).
In 2023, ISAE-SUPAERO will develop a liquid hydrogen version of the drone. Storing hydrogen in liquid form means that the quantity of hydrogen on board can be tripled for the same volume, which means that the distance covered can be multiplied by the same amount. The switch from gas to liquid does, however, raise a number of technical challenges: the challenge is to master the storage and thermal control of the fluid on board, and to optimise the available energy flows (solar, hydrogen, aerological), while maintaining a high level of reliability and aerodynamic performance. This new phase of development will culminate in flight tests in early 2024.
From the drone to the Mermoz challenge, expert contributions at every stage
The project was initiated in 2018 by a team of researchers from ISAE-SUPAERO led by Professor Jean-Marc Moschetta, who worked on the aerodynamic and propulsive design of the demonstrators, the energy modelling of the hydrogen chain and conducted the wind tunnel test phase on campus.
H3 Dynamics, the world leader in airborne hydrogen-electric propulsion systems and a partner in the “Drone Mermoz” project, helped finance the manufacture of the two demonstrators, supplied the hydrogen fuel cell system and contributed its expertise in the integration, use and safety of hydrogen on board the aircraft.
At this stage, a number of other players also collaborated: H2PULSE, the Laplace laboratory, the Nogaro high school, the Ecole Nationale de la Météorologie (Météo-France), ENAC, LAAS-CNRS, and the Eole Muret aeromodelling club. The project was co-financed by the Occitanie Region and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), with H3 Dynamics as the industrial partner. It has also received support from the ISAE-SUPAERO Foundation, which, thanks to donors to the Class Gift Inter-Promotions 2020-2000-1980, has raised funds to contribute to the purchase of equipment to fly the demonstrator.
For this pioneering“Drone Mermoz” project, we are carrying out major academic work on the hydrogen chain. Our aim is to validate the models developed during this phase so that they can be used for larger-scale aircraft. This work is also enabling us to enrich the teaching given to our students and prepare them for the disruptive technologies destined for low-carbon aviation”, explains Jean-Marc Moschetta.
The next step in this great adventure is called the “Défi Mermoz”, and it will be piloted with DELAIR, a company specialising in the design and manufacture of several generations of professional drones.
This world first will be based on disruptive technologies that are part of the roadmap towards low-carbon aviation.
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