Phantom Eye UAV

The last time I had talked about the unveiling of the Boeing Phantom Eye was in July 2010. Since then the military has been very quite about the progress, until now.

The Phantom Eye is a high-altitude long endurance (HALE) vehicle that can fly at 65,000 feet and stay aloft for 4 days carrying surveillance and reconnaissance equipment. The Phantom Eye is also powered by hydrogen.

The maiden voyage will take flight from California’s Edwards Air Force Base within the next few days and is expected to last between 4 and 8 hours.

According to the Daily Mail, “Boeing also is developing a larger unmanned plane that will stay aloft for more than 10 days and ‘Phantom Ray,’ a fighter-sized UAV that will be a test bed for more advanced technologies, which made its inaugural flight in April.

“The drone technologies being developed by Phantom Works mean the day when dog fights take place between unmanned aircraft is getting much closer … Phantom Eye is powered by two 2.3-litre, four-cylinder engines that provide 150 horsepower each. It has a 150-foot wingspan, will cruise at approximately 150 knots and can carry up to a 450-pound payload.”

The Phantom Eye and Phantom Ray are expected to help out on the war on terror especially on the Pakistan border or any other types military situations where surveillance and reconnaissance is needed that will have the added benefit of keeping U. S. soldiers out of harm’s way.

The DoD has released a study titled, “Beyond Demonstration: A White Paper on the Role of Fuel Cells in the Department of Defense’s Energy Strategy”.

According to the press release, “The DOD assessment validates technological and commercial progress made to date by developers of fuel cell technology, recommending that the U.S. Department of Defense proactively evaluate and acquire fuel cell systems for distributed power generation, backup power, material handling equipment, ground support equipment and unmanned vehicles.”

In the first three of these areas the DoD has let the private sector take the lead on testing of fuel cell powered equipment. On the last, unmanned vehicles, the DoD has done its own independent research.

For distributed power generation, the DoD cites companies like Google, Walmart, Whole Foods, eBay, FirstEnergy, and Toyota leading the charge for successful testing. For backup power, the DoD cites Verizon, Wind Mobile, AT&T Wireless, Motorola, T-Mobile, and Sprint as early adopters to test their fuel cell powered equipment.

For material handling equipment and ground support, the DoD cites Walmart, Coca-Cola, Whole Foods, FedEx, BMW and Sysco as not only early adopters of testing prototypes but also early adopters of buying commercial fuel cell vehicles as I’ve pointed out on my many posts about fuel cell forklifts.

For unmanned vehicles testing the DoD has done a lot of its own work in collaboration with private companies such as Boeing for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV’s) and Adaptive Materials for unmanned ground vehicles.

The U. S. DoD has come to the conclusion after years of either its own testing or following the private sector testing of fuel cells in different applications that fuel cells are now ready for prime time commercialization within the military setting. The DoD has decided that hydrogen fuel cells provide more power, durability, energy and cost savings than other comparable technology.

And as the military starts a widespread rollout of hydrogen fuel cells in many different applications including vehicles and transportation, so will go the American public as well.

But, a company called Air Products, which I have blogged about many times, makes me wonder if they can in fact navigate this treacherous territory and come out on top. For years, Air Products has been supplying hydrogen cars with the necessary compressed H2 gas to run them. And they have been going full steam ahead.

For instance, just in the last two months, Air Products has engaged in some high profile hydrogen happenings. For instance, Air Products is supplying the hydrogen fuel for the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) shuttle buses.

And Air Products is also the exclusive vendor for the FCHE 2011 Conference in Washington, DC. Air Products is also the hydrogen supplier of choice for AC Transit’s bus fleet in the San Francisco Bay Area, Kimberly-Clark Corporation’s forklift fleet in South Carolina, London’s bus fleet, and Boeing’s Unmanned Phantom Eye UAV.

But Air Products isn’t the only large industrial hydrogen gas supplier on this planet or in the U. S. There is also Linde, Air Liquide and Praxair to name a few.

People often ask the question that if Big Oil doesn’t put up the needed hydrogen fueling infrastructure throughout the U. S., then who will? The answer becomes increasing apparent that the same companies who are currently building the hydrogen fueling station infrastructure on a smaller scale will probably be the ones to put up the H2 fueling stations on a larger scale.

These same companies already know there is money to be made in selling hydrogen. If the right incentives are in place you can look for these companies to be scaling up quickly – in Germany. The U. S. of course will lag sadly behind, but with enough political will at some point in time, perhaps in the U. S. Big Gas will overtake Big Oil on a nationwide scale.

On a local scale, I’m still betting on home hydrogen fueling stations to take root within the next 10 years to give car owners some autonomy over both Big Oil and Big Gas.

The purpose of the Global Observer is to put an aircraft at high altitudes of over 50,000 feet for the purposes of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) missions. The Global Observer may replace some satellites because it can stay aloft longer than most other UAVs plus it is much more maneuverable than any satellite.

According to Tech News Daily, “The Global Observer has a 175-foot wingspan and weighs less than 10,000 pounds. It has a modular composite airframe, which enables it be transported by a cargo aircraft, and an internal-combustion engine modified to burn hydrogen that drives a generator to produce electricity to power the UAV’s four propellers. Hydrogen was chosen because it has three times the energy of conventional fuel. When in operation, the aircraft produces no carbon emissions.”

The UAV market is another vehicle niche where hydrogen fuel is gaining momentum. Hydrogen powered vehicles are underwater, on top of water, on land, in the air, at high altitudes in the air and in outer space. Now, if we can broaden the scope from niche to mainstream the world will be a cleaner place for it.

Now, I’ve talked about hydrogen-powered UAV’s before. In fact, about a year ago, Horizon teamed up Bluebird Aero Systems to offer the world’s first commercial long distance UAV called the Boomerang.

The newest commercial fuel cell system from Horizon is called AEROPAK and may be used by different model of UAV’s made by different manufacturers as surveillance and reconnaissance planes.

Another UAV report making the headlines this week is that AeroVironment has successfully tested its Global Observer Aircraft 1001 UAV at Edwards Air force Base in California. The hybrid aircraft made its set of maneuvers on battery power alone this time, but later will be fitted with liquid hydrogen for extended range and duration.

The AeroVironment UAV will be able to fly at heights of 55,000 to 65,000 feet for 5 to 7 days and has a surveillance and communications area of up to 600 miles in diameter. Using hydrogen power for UAVs provides a quantum leap over batter power and the fact that both hydrogen powered UAV’s and hydrogen fuel cell packs for UAV’s are being commercialized show the feasibility of yet more hydrogen vehicles in the marketplace.

Whether its commercial hydrogen forklifts, palette trucks or UAVs, one by one, hydrogen-powered vehicles are going commercial and it’s only a matter of time before cars and trucks will get to this stage as well.

Now, AlumiFuel Power Inc. (API) has announced that it is working with the U. S. Navy to create unmanned undersea vehicles (UUVs). During various parts of the BP Oil Spill crisis UUVs were deployed such as the iRobot Seaglider to gather information about how much oil was spilled in the Gulf.

According to the AlumiFuel press release, “The overall global UUV market is expected to reach $12 billion over the next decade, encompassing commercial, naval and other national security applications. This number includes $1.2 billion for the power systems, with $400-$500 million related to the fuel modules.

“API has been interacting with selected defense contractors in the design of novel energy generators (including superheated steam as well as hydrogen) to power U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and commercial UUVs and submersibles for over two years. In fact, apart from this Navy R&D contract, API’s technology for underwater applications has been incorporated into three other proposals to DoD customers by three separate major defense contractors. “

The AlumiFuel system is unique because it involves a chemical reaction among aluminum, water and a proprietary catalyst to create hydrogen in an easily swappable cartridge. The hydrogen powered UUV is but one of many specialty applications being developed in the hydrogen vehicle industry.

Due to a rapid prototyping method this behemoth of a UAV with its 150-foot wingspan will demonstrate that it indeed can stay aloft at 65,000 ft for 4 days, which is an essential for military operations.

The Phantom Eye is powered by a couple of 2.3-liter, four-cylinder engines burning hydrogen fuel creating 150 hp each. The Boeing Phantom Eye will be tested carrying a 450 lb payload while traveling at 150 knots.

The naysayers keep talking about how hydrogen will never take off as an alternative transportation fuel but development of aerial vehicles such as the Phantom Eye proves otherwise. The wagons are circling.

Hydrogen forklifts, buses, UAVs, satellites, submarines, ships, stationary power, power plants, batteries for small electronic devices and eventually cars all powered by hydrogen cannot be ignored. The evidence mounts day by day that hydrogen will play a large roll in a green, alternative fuel future for both civilians and the military.

The Phantom Eye plus other hydrogen powered UAVs I’ve already spoken about add to the evidence that hydrogen transportation is here to stay, so the critics, deniers and naysayers had better get used to that.

A couple of weeks ago I went to the NHA Conference and took a look at the Vision Tyrano hydrogen fuel cell hybrid class-8 truck firsthand. The idea at that point for Vision was to introduce a zero emissions heavy duty vehicle into the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, Ca in order to help clean up emissions.

Over a year ago I talked about Asemblon’s plans to introduce Hydrnol, a hydrogen rich liquid chemical carrier that can be used to produce pure hydrogen and that is easily transported and recycled. Now, I’ve learned that the two companies have teamed up in order to establish a nationwide hydrogen refueling infrastructure for trucks. In fact, Vision Industries has signed an agreement in an exclusive licensing agreement to sell Hydrnol to the trucking industry from coast to coast.

Vision and Asemblon don’t see the rollout of a nationwide hydrogen trucking infrastructure anywhere as daunting as one aimed a passenger cars. According to Vision, “While that may be the case for an infrastructure rollout for fuel cell passenger vehicles, Vision looks at the big rig market from a different perspective. In 2006, the U.S. consumed 180.2 billion gallons of transportation fuels, of which 23.8 billion gallons (or 13.2-percent) were diesel consumed by combination highway trucks. There are approximately 1,200 diesel truck stops in the U.S., with Pilot Travel Center and Flying J established as the two largest truck stop chains, each utilizing approximately 300 stations to cover the U.S. from coast-to-coast and border-to-border.

“Since Hydrnol is an easy-to-handle liquid, an infrastructure roll-out utilizing existing fueling equipment is very straightforward. Installing Hydrnol storage and dispensing infrastructure at an existing truck stop is estimated at $200,000 to $300,000 per station. Therefore, a 300 station, nationwide Hydrnol infrastructure rollout, accessing 13.2-percent of the U.S. transportation fuel marketplace can be completed for less than $100 million.”

The pairing of these two partners may not be perfect but it’s pretty close. Vision Industries needs a hydrogen solution for propelling long haul trucks 650 miles at highway speeds before refueling and Hydrnol provides this. Asemblon needs a commitment from a major hydrogen vehicle maker in order to manufacture, distribute and recycle its product and Vision Industries provides this.

Like I’ve stated before, the national hydrogen car infrastructure may be the last domino to fall. Before it does, hydrogen powered forklifts, trucks, boats, planes, UAVs, trains, motorcycles and other vehicles may already have been commercialized and provided adequate H2 refueling infrastructure. A nationwide hydrogen truck refueling infrastructure and the reduced emissions and reduced dependence upon fossil fuels that it would provide will certainly be a giant leap for mankind in the right direction.

According to NNBW, “Small engines powered by hydrogen would produce no emissions. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency says one gas-powered lawnmower produces as much pollution as 11 cars. If their technology works – and that’s where the lawnmower engine test comes in – H2 Technologies Group’s founders think they can make a compelling case to small engine manufacturers who face strict emissions standards. Over the next couple of years, emissions from lawn mowers and similar equipment will need to be cut by about 35 percent.”

Now, I’ve talked about hydrogen lawnmowers in the past, but this statement above has gotten me to think about hydrogen fueled engines in general, both the internal combustion types and fuel cells. It looks like the market for hydrogen vehicles is developing all around hydrogen cars, starting from the periphery and moving inwards with H2 cars at the center.

The market will implode before it explodes with hydrogen cars, so to speak. As hydrogen forklifts, UAVs, lawnmowers, boats, motor scooters, bicycles, motorcycles, robots, military bionic enhanced legs, golf carts, wheelchairs, shuttle buses, submarines, mining vehicles, military all terrain vehicles and other such technology take off in the market, public acceptance will grow and the reasons to stall on hydrogen car infrastructure will decrease.

Proof of concept will already be there with the commercialization of other hydrogen vehicles outside of the car market. Buses, car fleets, trains, trucks at shipping ports are other examples that will be circling the wagons, so to speak, around mass marketed consumer oriented hydrogen cars.

Telecommunications power backups, residential power backups, corporate power backups, hotel power backups, utility companies using wind, solar and other renewable with hydrogen storage, home hydrogen CHP stations, manufacturing plants such as beer and candy production facilities, data centers, waste water treatment plants, police and fire stations, high schools, universities, airport baggage carts all will most likely develop ahead of a hydrogen car fueling infrastructure. And, this is Okay.

Normalizing hydrogen vehicles in everyday use will serve to mainstream this technology, which will lead to public acceptance. Just as this generation of kids has grown up with PC’s, the Internet, cell phones and Xbox’s, the next generation will grow up with hydrogen vehicles and stationary hydrogen fuel cells.

Even though I’m impatient for hydrogen cars now, I also see the signs that commercialization outside of the H2 car market is happening at a rapid pace. And this commercialization is breaking ground for thousands if not millions of hydrogen cars to follow.

A new liquid hydrogen-powered UAV which is also a high altitude long endurance (HALE) aircraft called the Boeing Phantom Eye is getting ready to be demonstrated. According to Boeing Phantom Works president Darryl Davis, “The essence of Phantom Eye is its propulsion system. After five years of technology development, we are now deploying rapid prototyping to bring together an unmanned aerial vehicle [UAV] with a breakthrough liquid-hydrogen propulsion system that will be ready to fly early next year.”

The important aspects of the Boeing Phantom Eye include its 150 ft. wingspan, 450 lb. payload capability, 65,000 top altitudes and the ability to stay aloft for 4 days. This makes the Phantom Eye a military aircraft that will be useful for surveillance, intelligence, reconnaissance and communication.

But, wait, there’s more (as they say on those cheesy commercials on TV). Boeing is also working on a larger HALE called the Phantom Ray, which will be able to carry a 2,000 lb payload and stay in the air for 10 days. Both the Phantom Eye and Phantom Ray will be propelled by clean hydrogen fuel, fly higher than most typical UAVs and keep military personnel out of harm’s way, while recovering critical intelligence on the ground.

When one thinks of government agencies like NASA and the U. S. military, green energy rarely comes to mind. But, this is the direction both are moving towards and this lead by example philosophy is what we need more of in order to fully realize a hydrogen-based transportation system in the near future.