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Results of the first Russian competition among developers of hydrogen fuel cell power plants Up Great

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Hydrogen energy

The first Russian competition among developers of hydrogen fuel cell power plants Up Great has come to an end. Test flights of hydrogen powered units took place July 12 in Crocus Expo IEC. RIA Novosti reports on the results of the contest.

At the junction of technologies

A special flying platform on the territory of the Crocus Expo is fenced with a netting almost ten meters high. Next to the specially equipped pavilions the finalists of the contest complete the last preparations. A hydrogen fuel cell (HFC) with supporting systems fixed under the aircraft's belly and a hydrogen cylinder on its back look like this ATV of the future in full combat readiness.

Under the terms of the Up Great "First Element" technological competition organized by the Russian Venture Company (RVC), the Skolkovo Foundation and the Agency for Strategic Initiatives (ASI), the participants had to overcome the technological barrier of the specific mass energy intensity of hydrogen fuel cells at 700 Wt*h/kg. At the same time, it was necessary to keep the ATV with WTE in flight for at least three hours. This is almost four times longer than a similar unit flying on a conventional battery. The prize fund of the contest was 60 million rubles. Three out of ten teams reached the final: NaukaSoft, BVS and PolyTech.

While preparing for the flights, RIA Novosti correspondent asked the finalists how much such a power supply costs and what tasks the teams had to solve in the process of its creation.

What is VTE

Hydrogen fuel cells are capable of converting chemical energy of hydrogen into electrical energy during the process of its oxidation with oxygen. Oxygen can come from the air, while hydrogen can come from a cylinder. WTEs are highly efficient and environmentally friendly: the result of "exhaust" is water vapor.

The first WTE was created back in 1838 by physicist William Grove, who showed the reversibility of the process of water electrolysis and was able to combine the molecules of hydrogen and oxygen in water without burning, but with the release of electricity and heat. However, the invention had no practical application and was forgotten for a century.

The next achievement is on the account of the British engineer Francis Bacon, who in 1939 created a five-kilowatt stationary WTE.

In 1955, General Electric created the experimental VTE with a polymer membrane as an electrolyte. In 1959, the VTE was first installed on a tractor.

Commercial use of VTE began in 1964 on the second generation American spaceships Gemini (1964-1966).

In the USSR, hydrogen fuel cells were installed on the Buran spacecraft.

In 1991, the first vehicle on a hydrogen fuel cell was developed.

Now hydrogen fuel cells are actively used on ships and submarines, where they generate electricity for auxiliary processes. Among the most famous civil products on VTE, produced in series, is a Japanese car Toyota Mirai.

No less relevant is the use of hydrogen fuel cells for manufacturers of ATVs and other UAVs. The more energy-intensive the fuel cell of a drone and the less its weight, the longer the UAV will fly. At present, lithium-ion batteries can keep them in the air for about half an hour while performing minor tasks.

For more complex missions, including the so-called "last mile" logistics task of delivering goods from the warehouse to the end consumer, WTE as much as a much more energy-intensive fuel cell will be needed.

"The approximate cost of one fuel cell with a working surface of about three square centimeters is $50," said Sergei Khalyutin, CEO of NaukaSoft. The number of such cells in WTE depends, he said, on many factors. On the whole, he estimates the expenses of his team for participation in the contest at about three million rubles. "The main part of VTE are membrane electronic units. These are very complex and expensive electrochemical devices, which use several advanced technologies, including nano. And the hydrogen cylinder itself is the most complex multilayer product made of modern expensive composite materials," explained Halyutin.

NaukaSoft" team

The NaukaSoft team consists of the staff of NaukaSoft Pilot Workshop LLC, a developer of aviation power supply systems. The team's partner is Kalibr Technopark. Competence of the team members allows it to successfully solve problems in the aviation power industry, as well as in the field of automated control and navigation systems. The team consists of two doctors of sciences, one professor, two candidates of sciences, two associate professors, highly qualified engineers and a radio engineer with extensive experience. "NaukaSoft has extensive experience in complex optimization and mass minimization of the system through the rational distribution and use of electrical and thermal energy of the entire system. This allows reducing hydrogen consumption, increasing the efficiency of the power plant and reducing the structural mass. One of the team's main achievements is the creation of intelligent aircraft power supply systems. "NaukaSoft plans to make the first fully electric aircraft in Russia. The team consists of 10 people. The average age is 45 years.

According to Alexander Zubarev, leader of the BVS team, catalytic coatings with platinum elements are used in hydrogen fuel cells, and the product has the highest requirements in terms of strength and conductivity. "And everything ultimately rests on weight, because we are talking about aircraft. WTEs for electricity generation have long been used in the Navy, for example in submarines. But if we are talking about an ATV, which will have to lift a payload, its engine and tank must be light and not take up much energy," Zubarev said.

The "BVS" team

The basis of the BVS team is formed by employees of JSC Unmanned Helicopter Systems. The team was formed two years ago. It brought together specialists whose competencies allow them to work on advanced fuel cells for unmanned aerial vehicles: an electronic programmer, a composite technologist, a chemist, a drone operator. BVS considers the development of efficient and environmentally friendly power generation technologies for aircraft as its priority goal. According to the team members, this will significantly increase the duration of UAV flight and expand the range of tasks that they can perform. Currently, the team is developing a multi-copter with a take-off weight of 10 kg and a WTE of 1 kW and is creating the world's first helicopter with a WTE of 3 kW and a take-off weight of 30 kg. The team consists of 6 people, the average age is 42 years.

In general, WTE is a complex, knowledge-intensive product at the interface of various technologies. According to Nina Smirnova, captain of the PolyTech team, in order to create her own power plant she had to involve a variety of specialists: chemists, professionals in power electronics, pneumatics. "As a result, despite the fact that we have a very young team - guys and girls who have just graduated from institutes - we managed to make the installation, which is not worse than our competitors. So for us, creating a functioning hydrogen fuel cell is a huge scientific and technical victory," she said.

The PolyTech team

The team of "PolyTech" included employees and masters of the Platov Russian State Pedagogical University (SPI) and employees of the company "Engineering". The creation of the PolyTech team started with the laboratory of electrochemistry and hybrid materials at the Research Institute of Nanotechnologies and New Materials of SRPU. This laboratory develops materials for electrochemical energy: fuel cells, supercapacitors, lithium-ion batteries. One of the most important components of the PolyTech fuel cell is a platinum-carbon catalyst. It is based on a unique technology developed and patented by the team members. The catalyst is notable for its high activity, productivity and environmental friendliness. In addition, a special design and technology of bipolar plates manufacturing have been developed, which ensures significant weight reduction of the finished product. There are 11 people in the team. The average age is 38 years.

Day X

On the way to the final the participating teams had to pass three checks by the qualification committee of the competition. First, they inspected the teams' readiness for the tests as a whole and their technical base. A few months later, the working state of the VTE created by the teams was tested. The last pre-flight test was held before the very finish line, which only three teams reached.

"We tested the teams for compliance with the technical requirements of the competition, one of the main points of which was the maximum localization of components - they had to be domestic. Those who did not have local production were not allowed to be tested", said Yuri Dobrovolsky, Head of the Centre of Competence of STI for New and Mobile Power Sources Technologies of IPCF RAS, leader of the competition.

He also explained what principle was used to determine the main technological barrier in terms of specific mass energy intensity: "The fact is that the world already has VTE for drones with the index of 550 Wt*h/kg. This is the best industrial design, in the creation of which millions of dollars have been invested". The technological barrier that the contestants had to overcome was 700 Wt/h/kg.

And 550 Wt/h/kg the organizers of the competition set as a qualification barrier, which had to be passed for admission to the final test on July 12. Two teams - "NaukaSoft" and "BVS" - almost managed to catch up with the world leader, their VTE was almost 530 Wt/h/kg. However, nobody managed to overcome the qualification barrier as a result.

New branch of the electric power industry

"The contest has enriched us. We end it with a huge number of new technological ideas," says Sergey Khalyutin of NaukaSoft. - In addition, we have gained vast experience in developing converter technology, optimizing and regulating the movement of heavy ATVs in the air. All this will be applied in our future developments".

According to the participants, "The First Element" has taught them to solve the tasks in a short time, as required by the conditions of breakthrough technological competitions. The contestants also noted the revival of interest in the scientific and technical community in hydrogen technologies. The teams began to receive proposals for cooperation and new prospects for their development were outlined.

Dmitry Peskov, the Special Representative of the President of the Russian Federation for Digital and Technological Development, noted that the task that the organizers initially set for the competitors was as difficult as possible: "In the first year of any competition of this level, technological barriers are usually never overcome". Kirill Kayem, Vice President of the Skolkovo Foundation, recalled the famous Google Lunar XPrize 2014 contest, which also ended without a winner. However, then the creators of the lunar rover were able to find an investor to continue their development. "The future of this competition will largely depend on the interest of venture capital investors in the topic of VTE for drones," Kirill Kayem believes.

Commenting on the advantages of VTE over traditional fuel cells, Dmitry Peskov reminded that now literally all innovative economies in the world are fighting for the creation of really effective air taxis.

"Japan, China, the United States and a number of other countries have already created many very beautiful engineering structures for unmanned aerial taxis. But they cannot yet become full-fledged taxis, because lithium-ion batteries are simply unable to provide enough power to fly long distances. This problem must be solved by the VTE technology.

Dmitry Peskov, Special Representative of the President of the Russian Federation for Digital and Technological Development

General Director of RVC Alexander Povalko considers one of the main results of the contest as unique experience and the foundation for a new vector of innovation development:

"These technologies are in demand wherever there is a need for greater energy efficiency, be it aircraft or additional propulsion systems on aircraft. In fact, we have opened a new branch in the electric power industry".

The prize fund of 60 million rubles this time remained unclaimed, but the participating teams do not refuse to continue investing their resources in promising developments. They have completed the competition with new products that will be the prototype of the next generation of hydrogen fuel cell power plants.

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