Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV) Powered by Heliocentris Metal Hydride Storage Canisters

Heliocentris is excited to announce our Metal Hydride Storage Canisters have been used to power an Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV) developed by Spektronik. The metal hydride canisters are capable of storing 200 NL and 800 NL hydrogen at 25 bar filling pressure, easily powering the Spectronik Protium-375 Fuel Cell and providing cruising power to the vehicle with power up to 200W at peak capacity.

The UGV contained no batteries and does not need to stop for recharging, demonstrating the advantages of hydrogen fuel cells in powering drones and robots for long durations of time. The specific UGV developed by Spectronik is able to carry payloads of up to 3kg, such as industry specific sensors and cameras.

“We’re excited to partner with Spektronik in demonstrating the immense potential of hydrogen in the mobility sector”, said Nadjia Thomas, Director of Heliocentris Academia International GmbH. “Our Metal Hydride Storage Canisters are the future of easy, fast, safe and reliable hydrogen storage for not just mobility applications, but research and development, product testing and academic experimentation”.  

Heliocentris Metal Hydride Storage Canisters are expected to play a prominent role in powering an array of hydrogen applications in the coming years, such as fuel cell aerial drones, mobile robots, UGVs, AGVs or eco-cars. They allow compact storage of large amounts of hydrogen at low pressures while remaining safe.

The metal hydride storages are equipped with a low temperature AB2 metal alloy on a TiMg base, which can store hydrogen at high volume and with low weight density, ideal for stationary as well as mobility applications. They also have a low thermal conductivity and low plateau pressures at about room temperature.