BM Power develops and manufactures hydrogen fuel cells for drones and robots. It is an alternative to lithium-ion batteries, allowing up to 10 times more energy to be stored at comparable weight and dimensions, increasing the drone flight time to 12 hours (at least 2.5 hours for conventional professional multi-copters). Now the company is raising the investment round by $3 million, earlier the project was invested $1.5 million, among investors - the former owner of the Morton GC Alexander Ruchev. Invest Forsythe learned about this from Alexei Ivanenko, co-owner of BM Power.

Energy from hydrogen

Hydrogen fuel cells convert chemical energy from hydrogen into electricity. The fuel cell from BM Power is a 20 x 20 x 14 cm battery (width, length, height) consisting of multiple cells made of membranes on which a platinum-based catalyst is applied. This fuel cell is fed with hydrogen from a cylinder. When the hydrogen atom hits the membrane, it interacts with the catalyst and disintegrates into a proton and an electron. The electron goes into the electrical grid to form electricity, and the proton, passing through the membrane, meets the electron and oxygen returning from the grid - the result is a water molecule. The water is removed from the fuel cell by a fan. The very chemical reaction of electrolysis reversibility - the association of water and oxygen into a water molecule with a large emission of electricity and heat - has been known since 1839, but has been widely used for engineering purposes since the late 1980s. The efficiency of such system is very high - more than 50%: higher than the best internal combustion engines - 35-40%.

"It's a very simple solution - a box with two wires, you just stick it into the aircraft's onboard system, press a button, wait for a few seconds, and the system is ready to perform any task", - says Alexey Ivanenko.

The fuel element with the specified parameters gives energy of 1.2 kW.

Long distances, low temperatures.

BM Power makes fuel cells for drones that fly long distances: with a take-off weight of 10 kg the machine can fly from 2.5 to 3 hours. On lithium batteries, the drone runs for 30 minutes on average. The addition of a hydrogen fuel cell from BM Power is still possible to operate in minus temperatures up to -40 degrees Celsius.

Russian oil and gas pipelines monitor the drones on these hydrogen cells. At first, the IDS flew drones on internal combustion engines, but in negative temperatures these engines are not very good, plus there was a big vibration in the air, which did not allow to make a quality picture.

UVL Robotics drones on BM Power fuel cells delivered oil samples to Bashneft from its drilling rigs. While this was a pilot delivery, it may have become a regular delivery. BM Power is also involved in a monitoring project from the ice drone of the Northern Sea Route for a more optimal route for ships, etc.

The main problem with the hydrogen fuel cell is the lack of infrastructure for refuelling these energy systems and their relative cost. But the situation is changing: the fuel cell is becoming cheaper. This is facilitated by the largest car manufacturers Toyota and Hyundai, which already produce serial cars using hydrogen fuel cells.

Meanwhile, one kilometer of flight time on both hydrogen fuel cells and lithium-ion batteries costs 55 cents. Hydrogen fuel cells can be used for thousands of hours, after which some cells are replaced by new ones at customers' industrial sites.

BM Power has signed an agreement with Linde Gas Rus a.s., a subsidiary of the Linde Group, a producer of industrial gases, which will supply the owners of unmanned aerial vehicles with cylinders made of hydrogen by Linde. This will help solve the most important problem of hydrogen energy for drones - refueling infrastructure.

On the eve of the new round

According to the Contour.Focus service, the legal name of BM Power is "BMBKS" LLC, this company has existed since November 2016, it has seven owners: Alexei Ivanenko and Sergei Nefedkin have 21.7% each, 15.4% - the venture fund of "Fizteh Ventures" LLC, 5.4% - Alexander Ruchev. It should be noted that Sergey Nefedkin is a professor at the Department of Chemistry and Electrochemical Energy of MPEI National Research University. He, Ivanenko and his partners had the idea to make hydrogen energy work for business. The company has 15 patents and know-how, as well as production in Chernogolovka.

The world and Russia already have producers of hydrogen fuel cells. Among the most famous are the American Plug Power, Canadian Ballards and Protonex, British Intelligent Energy, Singapore's Horizon, AT Energy and Inergy in Russia. In spite of such competition, BM Power hopes to succeed. Revenue in 2018 amounted to 19.5 million rubles, this year it should triple. In the near future, BMBKS plans to complete an investment round of $3 mln to increase its production capacity to 1,200 kW per year in three years. The company does not specify how much is produced now.

"We see great interest from buyers, especially from foreign ones," notes Alexei Ivanenko.

The company is present in Spain, the UK, South Korea, Israel, and South Africa.

Earlier, Alexander Ruchev, a millionaire and founder of the largest development company Morton, invested in BMBKS. Ruchev also built a business incubator Fiztekh.Start, of which BMBKS is a resident.