Progress in Aerospace Sciences 116 (2020) 100620

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Progress in Aerospace Sciences

journal homepage: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/paerosci

Current technologies and challenges of applying fuel cell hybrid propulsion

systems in unmanned aerial vehicles
Bin Wang a, b, Dan Zhao b, *, Weixuan Li b, c, Zhiyu Wang a, Yue Huang d, Yancheng You d,
Sid Becker b
a
State Key Lab for Manufacturing Systems Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, Shaanxi, 710049, China
b
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, 8140, New Zealand
c
School of Mechanical Engineering, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing, 210094, China
d
School of Aerospace Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiang’An Nan Rd. 4221, Xiamen, 361102, China

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: Recent developments in fuel cell (FC) technologies show great potential to increase flight duration of unmanned
Unmanned aerial vehicles aerial vehicles (UAVs) with satisfactory fuel economy. The three most common FCs used to power UAVs are: 1)
Fuel cell polymer electrolyte membrane FC, 2) direct methanol FC, and 3) solid oxide FC. Because of the power perfor­
Hybrid propulsion systems
mance limitation of pure FC propulsion systems, hybrid propulsion systems that integrate FCs with other power
Energy management
Flight factors
sources such as batteries, supercapacitors, solar cells, and conventional internal combustion engines are rec­
Propulsion efficiency ommended for UAVs. This paper reviews the current developments in FC hybrid propulsion systems applied to
UAVs. The topics covered include the operating principles and characteristics of three typical FCs, issues faced by
FC-powered UAVs, specific roles of other electric power sources, pure electric hybrid constructions of FC hybrid
propulsion systems, hybrid engine-electric FC hybrid propulsion systems, potential impacts of various flight
factors, energy management strategies of FC hybrid propulsion systems, and similarities/differences of FC hybrid
propulsion systems in other vehicle applications. Finally, future trends and challenges of FC hybrid propulsion
systems are discussed, which could be valuable for the development of next-generation UAVs.

1. Introduction
Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), as remote-controlled or autono­
mous flying devices characterized by high flexibility and mobility, were
usually employed to conduct remote sensing and surveillance missions
[1]. In recent years, with the development of the microcomputer sci­
ence, airborne imaging, and intelligent control technologies, UAVs have
been widely applied in civilian applications to conduct various tasks
such as auto-spraying of pesticides, scientific wildlife tracking,
express-delivery, power grid maintenance, and earthquake rescue [2–4].
In military applications, UAVs have also been employed to conduct
certain tactical missions such as artillery guidance, drone fighting,
communication disruption, anti-ship missile defense and so on [5–7]. In
both civil and military applications, UAVs can achieve higher fuel
economy, more reliability, and much safer than conventional piloted
helicopters [5,8]. According to a market research report in 2019, the
global commercial UAV market size would be worth up to 17 billion
dollars by 2024 [9].
Because the power density and energy density of power sources
determine the propulsive force and the flight endurance, respectively,
propulsion systems are particularly important for UAVs [10–12]. Typi­
cally, UAVs are powered by conventional internal combustion engines
(ICEs) and electric motors [13,14]. Although UAVs powered by con­
ventional ICEs can achieve both high power density and high energy
density, ICEs are associated with engine vibration, low efficiency,
excessive weight and machine noise [12,15]. Additionally, the incom­
plete combustion of fossil fuel contributes to greenhouse gas and toxic
emissions [16,17]. To reduce these emissions, the hybrid engine-electric
and pure electric propulsion systems, which show significant promise,
could be used [12,18]. Compared with pure ICE-based UAVs, the UAVs
powered by electric motors are more lightweight, reliable, and efficient
[19,20]. Furthermore, the responsiveness to the dynamic load from the
electric motors is faster than that of ICEs [11]. In terms of working
performance and environmental concerns associated with hydrocarbon
and other harmful emissions, electric propulsion systems would become
the mainstream for these small commercial UAVs [21].

* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: Dan.zhao@canterbury.ac.nz (D. Zhao).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paerosci.2020.100620
Received 13 April 2020; Received in revised form 10 May 2020; Accepted 15 May 2020
Available online 3 July 2020
0376-0421/© 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
B. Wang et al.
In recent years, using fuel cells (FCs) as the major power source has
become very popular for electric propulsion systems in aircrafts or
UAVs, [22–24]. Different from conventional ICEs, FCs can directly
produce electric power through electrochemical reactions [22,25].
Because hydrogen or methanol fuel has high energy density, the use of
FCs offers a weight reduction of the UAV propulsion systems [26,27].
For instance, the mass of a hydrogen FC can be three to five times lower
than that of the lithium-based battery in terms of the same energy stored
[2]. Moreover, the special refueling style of FCs can avoid the long
charging process associated with batteries [1,28]. According to previous
studies, three typical categories of FCs are used in UAVs: 1) proton ex­
change membrane FC (PEMFC) [29,30]; 2) solid oxide FC (SOFC) [31,
32]; and 3) direct methanol FC (DMFC) [26,33]. The first two FCs have
higher operating efficiency than the DMFC [34]. However, since the
DMFC fuel is in liquid phase, its energy storage system can store more
fuel with the same volume than that of the PEMFC and the SOFC [35].
Because these three FC technologies rely on different electrochemical
reactions, they should be applied to flight requirements that are specific
to their respective characteristics [1,5,36]. Although FCs used as power
sources in UAVs have many advantages, they have certain common
defects: excluding the relatively low power density, their operating ef­
ficiency at the low/high power output mode are unsatisfactory and load
response is not rapid [5,36,37]. If the electric propulsion system of a
UAV is only equipped with an FC, the corresponding maneuverability
and the flight endurance may be tremendously limited [38].
To simultaneously achieve high maneuverability and long flight
endurance, the electric propulsion systems of UAVs can combine FCs
with other power sources such as batteries, supercapacitors, or solar
cells [39–41]. The integration of FCs with other power sources can
significantly improve the dynamic load-response, the power perfor­
mance, and the energy storage capacity of UAV propulsion systems [1].
However, the roles of batteries, supercapacitors, and solar cells in FC
hybrid propulsion systems are different [29,42–44]. For instance, the
battery can act as an auxiliary power source to provide a stable output
voltage. In fact, batteries are also the most commonly used power
sources for these small and short-distance commercial UAVs [38,42].
Nevertheless, for long endurance UAVs with a large payload, the power
demand would be very high and irregular. If the FC is only integrated
with the battery, the service life of the batteries might be shortened [45].
Thus, supercapacitors characterized by higher power density than bat­
teries are recommended for use in the FC hybrid propulsion systems to
smooth the power demand [44,45]. Different from the batteries and
supercapacitors, solar cells can generate electricity by capturing the
unlimited solar energy [46]. Because solar cells can be installed on the
wings of UAVs, they offer an opportunity to reduce the space required
for power sources [47,48]. The solar cell can also be used as the major or
complementary power source for UAVs to increase flight endurance [46,
47,49]. Therefore, the roles of the aforementioned power sources in FC
hybrid propulsion systems depend on their respective operating char­
acteristics and strengths.
Because the power sources play different roles, reasonable hybrid
constructions should be designed to exploit their respective strengths
thoroughly [50,51]. In general, hybrid propulsion systems can be clas­
sified into two types: direct and indirect hybrid constructions [50,52,
53]. As the name suggests, the direct hybrid construction directly con­
nects the power sources to the DC-bus or load without any DC-DC
conversion or regulating systems [50]. Although the direct hybrid
scheme is simple, it cannot effectively exploit the respective strengths of
the power sources [52]. The indirect hybrid schemes include the fully
active and semi-active constructions [42,54]. For the fully active con­
struction, all power sources can be actively controlled by DC-DC con­
verters [53,55]. Although the fully active construction can completely
control each power source, it also causes an increase in the weight and
cost of the DC-DC conversion system [53]. In contrast, for the
semi-active construction, at least one of the power sources is passively
controlled without the DC-DC converter [12,54]. Because this
2
Progress in Aerospace Sciences 116 (2020) 100620
construction uses fewer DC-DC converters, it is associated with an
overall reduction in cost and weight [42,54]. For the semi-active con­
struction, although some power sources cannot be actively controlled
such that the overall FC hybrid propulsion system efficiency is low, the
UAV’s flight endurance might also be improved due to the lightweight
design. Indeed, the balance of cost, weight, and control effect is a big
challenge for the construction design of FC hybrid propulsion systems in
UAVs [2].
Besides the specific hybrid design characteristics, the effects of flight
environments and conditions should be carefully considered for the
design of FC hybrid propulsion systems in UAVs [26]. It should be noted
that the UAVs might undergo the cloudy, heavy fog and even rainy
weather during the long cruising flight. Furthermore, to achieve the
flight missions, the UAVs would be required to fly at different altitudes
[49,51]. Accordingly, the ambient temperature, atmospheric pressure,
and relative humidity would be changed along with the flight environ­
ments and conditions [5,26]. These external flight factors from the flight
environments and conditions would more or less affect the overall
performance of the FC hybrid propulsion systems in UAVs [5,26,56]. In
addition to external factors, self-factors such as cruising speed and the
climbing power affect the FC fuel consumption and flight endurance
[57]. To improve the overall performance of the FC hybrid propulsion
systems, the impacts of various flight factors should be studied based on
external and itself classifications, respectively.
According to the specific hybrid construction and analyses of the
impact of flight factors, energy management strategies (EMSs) should be
designed for the FC hybrid propulsion systems such that these UAVs can
efficiently and stably execute a variety of missions [47]. The primary
goal of the EMS is to guarantee that the FC can produce a stable or
optimal electric power to meet the load demand [45]. The second goal of
the EMS is to thoroughly exploit the superiorities of power sources ac­
cording to their respective operating characteristics, the specific hybrid
construction, and flight factors [1,29]. The final goal of the EMS is to
achieve the comprehensive energy management optimization for
extending the service life of the power sources, thereby improving the
durability, system reliability and operating efficiency [47,48]. In pre­
vious studies, simple rule-based strategies have been widely used for the
energy management of FC hybrid propulsion systems in UAVs [11,40,
52]. Some off-line optimization methods based on intelligent control
have also been studied based on known flight profiles [11,40]. Some
researchers declared that the real-time online intelligent control and
multi-objective comprehensive optimization would be the main
research direction for the FC hybrid propulsion systems in UAVs in the
future [40,52]. However, the overall performance based on
multi-objective evaluation can be affected by the dynamic flight factors,
while current intelligent control algorithms are time consuming, such
that they cannot be implemented online.
This review paper focuses on the current technologies and challenges
for FC hybrid propulsion systems in UAV applications. An introduction
of three typical FCs, the issues of FC-powered UAVs and the available
auxiliary electric power sources are provided at first. Then, the strengths
and weaknesses of the existing hybrid constructions are analyzed. Next,
the internal integration and the external power integration of hybrid
engine-electric propulsion systems (i.e., FC-ICE hybrid propulsion sys­
tems) are described. We also discuss the impacts of various flight factors
on the FC performance as well as the overall performance of the FC
hybrid propulsion systems. Moreover, a summary of the current strate­
gies of implementing EMSs for FC hybrid propulsion systems is pre­
sented. In addition, the similarities and differences of the FC hybrid
propulsion systems in UAVs, electric vehicles (EVs) and underwater
vehicles are discussed. Finally, the most critical challenges and future
research directions for UAV FC hybrid propulsion systems are discussed
and suggested.
B. Wang et al.
2. Three typical fuel cells used in UAVs
FC propulsion systems are promising alternatives to conventional
ICEs, since they use clean and renewable hydrogen or methanol fuel [1,
58,59]. With the characteristics of small size, high energy density, high
energy conversion efficiency, and low maintenance cost, FCs are very
popular as power sources for propulsion systems in EVs, autonomous
underwater vehicles (AUVs), and UAVs [1,60–62]. There are three pri­
mary categories of FCs including the PEMFC, the SOFC and the DMFC in
UAV applications. Here the respective advantages and disadvantages of
the three typical FCs are discussed.
2.1. Proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC)
A PEMFC involves three parts: the anode, the cathode, and the pro­
ton exchange membrane (PEM). The PEM is made of Nafion, which can
effectively transfer protons [2]. The anode and cathode are located on
the two sides of the PEM, respectively. With the diffusion layer and a
catalyst layer of the electrode, triple-phase boundaries for electro­
chemical reactions including hydrogen oxidation and oxygen reduction
reactions can be achieved [2]. The principles of the PEMFC reaction are
illustrated in Fig. 1 [32].
The reaction on the anode can be represented as
H2 → 2H þ þ 2e
The proton generated at the anode will travel through the PEM to
react with oxygen. The reaction at the cathode can be represented as
1 2
O2 þ 2H þ þ 2e →H2 O
2 The overall reaction can be written as
The overall reaction can be written as
1 2
O2 þ H2 →H2 O
2 SOFC is a type of high operating temperature FC. As the name sug­
For the current state-of-the-art FCs, the most used FC in UAV appli­
cations is the PEMFC [1,5]. The PEMFC has an inimitable advantage in
terms of the operating temperature range (30~110 � C), which is very
safe and reliable for the mechanical and chemical compatibility [47].
Furthermore, the PEMFC uses hydrogen as fuel. The byproduct of the
electrochemical reactions into the PEMFC is only water, which is very
environmentally friendly. The energy density of compressed hydrogen
gas can reach up to 1000 Wh/kg, which is much higher than that of
Lithium-based batteries [1,35].
The drawbacks of the PEMFC are the high costs of the PEM and the
noble metal catalyst. This is the motivation for industrial and academic
research for alternative membrane materials and catalysts [63]. On the
other hand, hydrogen storage is a noteworthy issue due to the size,
weight and flight condition constraints of the UAV [35]. During the
flight, a PEMFC-powered UAV requires a continuous supply of hydrogen
Fig. 1. Reaction principles of the PEMFC (Created based on [32]).
Progress in Aerospace Sciences 116 (2020) 100620
from an onboard storage vessel. With the low density of the gaseous
hydrogen at normal atmospheric pressures, a large vessel is required to
store the compressed hydrogen fuel [35]. Although increasing the
pressure of the compressed hydrogen fuel can reduce the storage vol­
ume, the thickened pressure vessel increases the weight of the hydrogen
storage system [35]. To reduce the vessel volume, hydrogen can be
stored in its liquid phase or in solid chemical hydrides [35,64]. How­
ever, these two methods bring new issues for the hydrogen storage,
which are further discussed in next section.
2.2. Solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC)
The SOFC is composed of three solid parts: ceramics porous cathode,
ceramics porous anode, and solid oxide electrolyte [31,65]. The function
of the solid oxide electrolyte is similar to that of the PEM, but it transfers
negative oxygen ions from the cathode to the anode [65]. Therefore,
electrochemical reactions based on different triple-phase boundaries can
be realized in the SOFC. The reaction principles of the hydrogen fuel are
illustrated in Fig. 2 [32,65]. The corresponding reaction principles are
shown as Equations (4)~(6) [32].
The electrochemical oxidation occurs at the anode. It can be written
as
(1) H2 þ O2 →H2 O þ 2e (4)
The reaction on the cathode is
1
O2 þ 2e →O2 (5)
(2)
1
O2 þ H2 →H2 O (6)
(3)
gests, the electrolyte material of the SOFC is solid oxide so that it can
undergo a high operating temperature range between 600 and 1,000 � C
[66,67]. This results in a high energy conversion efficiency without
using an expensive catalyst which is required for the PEMFC. In addition
to hydrogen, the SOFC can be fueled with hydrocarbons such as
methane, propane, biofuels, natural gas, and even gasoline [31,68].
Moreover, the high operating temperature promotes the integrated
usage of the SOFC with the turbine-less jet engine [18,66,69]. In the
SOFC based turbine-less jet engines, the exhaust of the SOFC can be used
to preheat the compressed air and the premixed hydrocarbon fuels.
Furthermore, the exhaust of the SOFC can also be burned into jet en­
gines, thereby improving the fuel efficiency considerably [69,70]. The
specific energy density can reach up to 800 Wh/kg for the SOFC-jet
engine hybrid propulsion systems [69,71].
The crucial drawback of the SOFC is that long-time would be taken
for the warm-up and start-up of the SOFC [31]. In addition, the
Fig. 2. Reaction principles of the SOFC (Created based on [32]).
3
B. Wang et al.
mechanical and electrochemical compatibility is a big challenge for
SOFC systems in UAVs. The thermal management system must be
designed for high operating temperatures. Current SOFC technologies
tend to limit the operating temperature within 600–1000 � C to reduce
the material cost and guarantee the system stability [66,67]. In addition,
if the hydrogen is mixed with the carbon monoxide on the anode side,
the electrochemical reaction is changed [65]. The mixed fuel can slow
down the electrochemical reactions of the SOFC and any incomplete
reaction byproducts would include toxic gases [65].
2.3. Direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC)
To achieve long range and long duration applications, the DMFC has
been proposed as a possible power source for UAVs due to the high
energy density of liquid methanol under conventional conditions [5].
Indeed, the internal configuration of the DMFC is similar to that of the
PEMFC, i.e., it consists of an anode, a cathode, and a water-saturated
PEM [72]. In this respect, the DMFC can be considered as a type of
PEMFC. The reaction principles of the DMFC are illustrated in Fig. 3 [5].
The oxidation of methanol presents at the anode is performed as
CH3 OH þ H2 O→CO2 þ 6H þ þ 6e (7)
The protons travel through the water-saturated PEM to the cathode,
and the reaction is
3
O2 þ 6H þ þ 6e →3H2 O (8)
2 Although UAVs can be refueled more quickly as well as fly for much
The overall reaction in the DMFC can be written as
3 low power performance, slow-response, and low operating efficiency
CH3 OH þ O2 →CO2 þ 2H2 O (9)
2 with the low/high power output mode should be addressed to improve
The advantage of the DMFC is that its methanol fuel can be main­
tained in the liquid state under conventional circumstances [2]. Liquid
methanol has a much higher energy density than compressed hydrogen
used in PEMFCs or SOFCs [1,73]. Furthermore, the methanol fuel is very
stable under a wide temperature range and at various environmental
conditions [34]. Therefore, the challenges of the hydrogen based fuel of
the PEMFC are avoided. In addition, the methanol fuel can be easily
stored, transported and managed.
An issue of concern for DMFC operation occurs when a portion of the
methanol directly crosses the membrane from the anode side to the
cathode side [72,74]. This results in a reduction in the operating effi­
ciency because of the incomplete processing of the methanol. What’s
worse, the methanol crossover leads to the reduction of mixed potential
such that the operating efficiency of the DMFC system is further reduced
[34]. In addition, the catalyst-poisoning during the methanol oxidation
reaction is a serious problem [2,72]. These issues severely restrict the
development and application of DMFCs. Although the DMFC system
operates with low energy conversion efficiency, it can be used in special
Fig. 3. Reaction principles of the DMFC (Created based on [5]).
4
Progress in Aerospace Sciences 116 (2020) 100620
power supply applications. For instance, since the DMFC uses a fully
water-saturated Nafion membrane and the fuel can be a water/methanol
mixture, the UAV powered by a DMFC hybrid propulsion system will be
affected barely by dry and hot weather conditions [26].
Table 1 summarizes the operating characteristics of the three typical
FCs used in UAVs [5,47,66,75]. As a summary, the PEMFC is the
preferred choice for small commercial UAVs due to its small size, high
operating efficiency, and suitable operating temperature range. The
critical issues faced by PEMFCs are the expensive PEM, high-cost noble
metal catalyst, and relatively low energy density of the hydrogen fuel
under normal circumstances [2,11,63]. SOFC has high operating effi­
ciency due to its high operating temperature. The SOFC fuel can be
diverse, and the operating temperature solves the issue of the expensive
catalyst. Besides, it has been demonstrated that hybrid the SOFC with a
jet engine can achieve up to 76.32% energy efficiency [66]. Because of
these superiorities, the SOFC is very suitable for long-endurance UAVs
powered by the turbine-less jet engines. The DMFC can use liquid
methanol as fuel such that the high energy density can be obtained. With
a small methanol storage vessel, the DMFC can meet the long-time en­
ergy requirements of UAVs [26,73,74]. Although the operating effi­
ciency is low, the DMFC can be used in some special power supply
applications, especially for long-endurance UAV applications under dry
and hot weather conditions [26].
3. Issues of FC-Powered UAVs
longer time by fitting with the FC propulsion system, some potential
issues of the FC propulsion system such as onboard hydrogen storage, a
the comprehensive performance of UAVs in practical applications [1,5].
In the following sections, the potential issues of the FC-powered UAVs
are analyzed.
3.1. Issues of onboard hydrogen storage
A typical hydrogen FC-powered multi-copter UAV is illustrated in
Fig. 4. The corresponding flight endurance is up to 150 min rather than
the 20 min of conventional battery-powered UAVs [76]. The
outstanding feature of this FC-powered UAV is that it uses a hydrogen
storage vessel to solve the issue of onboard hydrogen storage. However,
in order to achieve a long range flight mission, the hydrogen storage
vessel must be very large. Even the volume of the onboard fuel vessel is
much higher than that of the UAV [35]. Hence, two other onboard
hydrogen storage techniques (i.e., liquid hydrogen and solid chemical
hydrides) have been proposed to solve this issue for UAVs [35,64].
Storing hydrogen in its liquid phase will considerably reduce the
required storage volume. However, the liquid hydrogen storage style
requires a low cryogenic temperature [2,32,35]. The maintenance of the
cryogenic temperature is a big challenge for the onboard vessel. With an
increase in temperature, fuel loss cannot be avoided due to the liquid
hydrogen evaporation [1].
Solid chemical hydrides such as sodium borohydride (NaBH4) can
Table 1
Operating characteristics of the three typical FCs [5,47,66,75].
FC Fuel type Operating Operating Stack System
type efficiency temperature power power
density density
PEMFC Hydrogen 40–60% 30–110 � C >500 >150
W/kg W/kg
SOFC Hydrogen or 30–50% 600–1000 � C >800 >100
Hydrocarbon W/kg W/kg
DMFC Methanol 20–30% 30–90 � C >70 W/ >50 W/
kg kg
B. Wang et al. Progress in Aerospace Sciences 116 (2020) 100620

an additional heating device. A comparison between the liquid

Fig. 4. FC-powered multi-copter UAV [76].
hydrogen and chemical hydrogen storage technologies is summarized in
Table 2 [1,32]. For small civilian UAVs, the advantages of the liquid
hydrogen and chemical hydrogen storage technologies may be counter
balanced by the requirements for additional hydrogen extraction de­
vices. However, for some military long range hydrogen-powered air­
crafts or UAVs, the liquid hydrogen and chemical hydrogen storage
technologies can improve the flight duration by more than 24 h and 10
h, respectively [32].
Another concern for the onboard hydrogen storage is that the center
of gravity position of the fuel storage vessel is dynamically changed. In
general, the hydrogen storage vessel should be installed at the center of
gravity position such that the shift of the gravity center along with the
hydrogen consumption can be effectively avoided. When the UAV
changes its flight attitude, the deviation of the gravity center of the
onboard vessel might be very serious, which would be a big challenge for
the flight stability control. On the other hand, because the changes of the

solve the issue of high-density hydrogen storage without the require­

ment of the cryogenic temperature [77–80]. However, additional Table 2
hydrogen extraction devices are required to produce hydrogen from the Comparison among the compressed H2, cryogenic liquid H2, and chemical hy­
solid chemical hydrides. For instance, the hydrogen extraction mecha­ drides technologies [1,32].
nism based on the chemical hydride NaBH4 is shown in Fig. 5 [78]. To Hydrogen storage Advantages Disadvantages
accelerate the hydrolysis reaction, the acid solution (HCl) can be used to technologies
react with NaBH4 [81]. The corresponding reactions are Traditional ● Easy to implement ● Low hydrogen storage
Compressed H2 ● Commercial efficiency
NaBH4 þ 2H2 O→NaBO2 þ 4H2 (10) application ● Onboard fuel vessel is large
● Rapid refueling and ● Vessel explosion issue
NaBH4 þ HCl þ 3H2 O→NaCl þ H3 BO3 þ 4H2 (11) release ● Gas leakage issue
Cryogenic liquid ● High hydrogen storage ● Additional energy
According to Eqs. (10) and (11) and Fig. 5, the hydrolysis reaction of H2 efficiency consumption for H2
NaBH4 needs additional devices such as a water pump, NaBH4 reactor, ● No vessel explosion liquefying
issue ● Low cryogenic temperature
and water trap. This can considerably increase the mass and volume of
● Weight reduction of device is required
the PEMFC system [77,82]. onboard fuel vessel ● Hydrogen loss due to boil-off
The other chemical hydride used to generate hydrogen for PEMFC in Chemical hydrides ● Stable under ambient ● Additional devices for
UAVs is ammonia borane (NH3BH3). It has a higher hydrogen storage temperature generating H2
efficiency (19.6 wt%) than NaBH4 (15 wt%) [32,77]. Moreover, its ● Satisfactory ● Electrochemical reaction
volumetric capacity delay
dehydrogenation reaction is very simple and can be performed as
● By-product (NaBO2,
NH3 BH3 → NH2 BH2 þ H2 (12) NH2BH2) issues
● Catalyst or heating is
The dehydrogenation reaction occurs at 120~180 � C so it also needs required

Fig. 5. Mechanism for hydrogen extraction from NaBH4 [78].

5
B. Wang et al. Progress in Aerospace Sciences 116 (2020) 100620

gravity center position of the liquid fuel or solid chemical hydrides are
much easier caused than that of the compressed hydrogen gas, the on­
board liquid or solid hydrogen storage systems make it more difficult for
the flight attitude stability control of UAVs.

3.2. Issue of low power performance

The commonly used electrical power supply devices in UAVs include

FCs, batteries, and supercapacitors and so on [1]. Fig. 6 shows that FCs
have the highest energy density compared with other energy storage
devices [1,83]. In terms of the energy density, FCs are the best choice as
power sources for UAVs. Only the special Alkaline battery can reach the
same energy density as that of the FCs, while the cost of it is very
expensive. Although the stack power density of the PEMFC and SOFC
can reach up to 500 W/kg and 800 W/kg [31,47], respectively, the
overall system power density of these two FCs is very low, since the FC
systems include additional components such as the thermal manage­
ment, fuel humidification, air compressor, and hydrogen storage sys­
tems [1,5].
Indeed, the power density of the currently popular lithium-polymer
battery used in commercial UAVs is approximately an order of magni­
Fig. 7. Voltage drop phenomenon of the PEMFC along with the increase of
tude higher than that of the most mature PEMFC among the three FCs.
operating current [23].
For the portable and lightweight DMFC used in UAVs, the system power
density is approximately 70 W/kg [5], which is much lower than that of
3.3. Slow-response issue
the PEMFC. Additionally, the output voltage of these PEMFC and DMFC
systems would drop along with the increase in the load [34,77,84]. This
The simplified structure of a UAV’s PEMFC system is shown in Fig. 8
is depicted in Fig. 7, where the voltage of the PEMFC experiences rapid
[83]. During the operating of this PEMFC system, the flow of the
drops with an increase of the output current [23]. The low output
hydrogen fuel is controlled by a magnetic valve and a hydrogen recycle
voltage also leads to a low power performance of the PEMFC. For the
pump. Meanwhile, both the hydrogen fuel and oxygen should be hu­
DMFC, the voltage drop phenomenon becomes stronger, since the
midified by the humidification system [20]. The slow-response phe­
methanol crossover current has a negative impact on its output voltage
nomenon of the FC system cannot be avoided due to the electrochemical
[34,72]. For these reasons, the pure FC system cannot completely
reaction delay, the hydrogen fuel flow delay, the humidification treat­
replace the battery system in a UAV to conduct the flight mission with
ment delay, and the delayed mechanical characteristics of the magnetic
high power demand. The low power performance issue is also one of the
valve and recycle pumps [85]. To achieve the maximum power output,
bottlenecks of FCs, which limit the corresponding large-scale applica­
the stack of the PEMFC should be heated from ambient temperature to
tions in commercial EVs and UAVs.
50~70 � C, which is also time-consuming.

Fig. 6. Comparison of different electrical power supply devices [83].

6
B. Wang et al.
Fig. 8. Simplified structure of the PEMFC system.
In addition to the traditional electrochemical reaction delay into the
FC stack, for these special UAVs that carry the chemical hydride NaBH4
as the hydrogen source, the chemical reaction for the hydrogen gener­
ation can significantly lead to the slow-response phenomena of the FC
system [79,86]. The slow-response of the PEMFC is represented by two
aspects: the start-up delay and the load-response delay [87,88]. As
shown in Fig. 9, approximately 25 min are required to start-up the
PEMFC from the low reaction temperature to the optimal reaction
temperature [87]. Along with the increase in the reaction temperature,
the hydrogen generation rate would increase, since the catalytic activity
is continuously enhanced. Finally, the PEMFC operates at the steady
mode and the hydrogen generation rate is maintained at approximately
1.0 L/min.
In previous studies [88,89], the load response of the PEMFC was
investigated and then a small PEMFC/Battery hybrid-powered UAV that
was designed with a NaBH4 hydrogen generator. It was found [89] that
when the power demand is low, the PEMFC system could rapidly
respond to the load and that the load-response delay occurred when the
power demand was high. As shown in Fig. 10, the PEMFC output power
cannot follow the varied load power during the large load variation
[89]. In this case, the battery should supply the deficit power to
compensate for the load-response delay of the FC system. With an in­
crease in time, the PEMFC output power follows the varied load power
or reaches its maximum value. The similar load-response delay phe­
nomena can be founded in the literature [88].
3.4. Efficiency issue of FC propulsion systems
Similar to conventional ICEs, the operating efficiency of the FC varies
with its power output [90]. Thus, the operating efficiency of the FC
propulsion systems is significantly changed at different operating
Fig. 9. Hydrogen release and the corresponding reaction temperature [87].
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Progress in Aerospace Sciences 116 (2020) 100620
Fig. 10. Load-response delay of the PEMFC system with NaBH4 hydrogen
generator [89].
modes. In the literature [91], the power consumption of the FC pro­
pulsion system was studied under three operating modes: (i) idle mode,
(ii) high power output mode, and (iii) cruise mode. The power losses are
shown in Fig. 11(a)~(c) [91]. When the FC propulsion system works
with the idle mode, the FC only needs to power the controller. The
standby power of the propulsion system is very small. In this case, little
electrical power is generated by the FC and the overall efficiency of the
FC propulsion system is close to zero. The primary power losses are
caused by the lower heating value (LHV) of the purged hydrogen and FC
irreversibilities, which take up about 88.5% of the total input power.
The gross electric power generated by the FC is only 11.4% of the total
input power.
During the climbing phase of a UAV, the power demand from the
propulsion motor is very high. The FC should work with the high power
output mode. Fig. 11(b) shows that the primary power losses would be
about 66.5% of the total input power. The gross electric power gener­
ated by the FC could be up to 33.5%. Because of the other power sources
such as the compressor consumption, the motor, and its controller los­
ses, the overall efficiency of the FC propulsion system is approximately
14%. Compared with the idle mode, the total power losses are increased
but the relative power loss ratio is reduced at the high power output
mode. Thus, the overall efficiency of the FC propulsion system is
improved at the high power output mode.
Indeed, the FC has a peak-efficiency region, which means that the FC
should work with the optimal output power rather than the maximum
power output to achieve high overall efficiency of the FC propulsion
system [34,80]. Fig. 11(c) shows that the power losses caused by FC
irreversibilities are considerably reduced at the cruise mode of the UAV.
The corresponding power losses caused by the FC irreversibilities are
only 338 � 39 W, which is about half of that at the high power output
mode. In this case, the gross electric power generated by the FC could be
up to 40%.
For the primary power losses of the FC propulsion system, the LHV of
the purged hydrogen has no evident changes at different operating
modes, but the power loss ratio due to FC irreversibilities can be effec­
tively reduced by controlling the FC power output within its peak-
efficiency region. However, a pure FC propulsion system cannot
actively adjust its power output such that the overall FC propulsion
system efficiency is very low during the whole flight mission.
From the aforementioned analyses of the three FCs, the performance
limitations such as the low power performance, slow-response and low
B. Wang et al. Progress in Aerospace Sciences 116 (2020) 100620

operating efficiency with the low/high power output mode of the FC

limit the overall performance of FC propulsion systems in UAVs.
Furthermore, if an FC directly responds to the pulsed power demand, its
lifetime, the energy conversion efficiency and operating reliability could
be tremendously degraded [42,50,54]. Therefore, other auxiliary or
complementary power sources in combination with FCs are recom­
mended to enhance the overall performance of the propulsion systems of
UAVs. In the following section, several common electric power sources
that can be combined with the FC will be discussed.

4. Hybrid with other electric power sources

4.1. Hybrid with battery

Batteries have a higher power density and a faster response than FC

systems. Indeed, the mature lithium-ion and lithium-polymer technol­
ogies have been widely used in commercial UAVs [41,42,54]. Compared
with FCs, these lithium-based batteries with relatively high power
density around 500~2800 W/kg can be more effective in dealing with
the high-frequency and pulsed power demand for UAV applications [1].
However, because of their relatively low energy density, lithium-based
batteries alone may not be sufficient to power UAVs. Therefore, FC
hybrid with the battery is a well-known and wonderful scheme [2]. The
FC/Battery hybrid propulsion system benefits from the advantages of
both the FC and the battery [36,54]. The battery can smoothen the
irregular and peak power requirements, thereby protecting the FC sys­
tem from irregular power shocks. The operating stability of both the FC
system and the overall propulsion system can be guaranteed, since the
battery can provide the buffer power and stable output voltage [42].
Moreover, to ensure the hydrogen energy conversion efficiency, the
output power of the FC can be optimized by adjusting the charging or
discharging power of the battery [45,88,92].
Because FC/Battery hybrid propulsion systems have so numerous
superiorities, they have been widely studied in UAV applications [41,88,
90]. In Ref. [36], a UAV equipped with a commercial 200 W
AEROPACK-FC/Battery hybrid power source was investigated. The re­
sults showed that when the operating current of the hybrid power source
was in the range of 5.5–6.0 A, the propulsion system was powered only
by the FC, while the electric power was drawn from the battery only
with a higher power requirement. In Ref. [90], D. Verstraete et al.
indicated that a battery could be employed to prevent the FC from
operating in the low-efficiency region to improve the hydrogen energy
conversion. Moreover, compared with a battery-based UAV, a longer
endurance can be achieved by using the FC/Battery hybrid power
source. In Ref. [88], Zhang et al. conducted an experimental research for
a UAV’s hybrid FC/Battery power propulsion system. The experimental
results demonstrated that the hydrogen consumption of the FC can be
obviously reduced by using the battery and intelligent fuzzy control to
adjust the FC output power. In Ref. [42], it was also demonstrated that
the battery in a PEMFC/Battery hybrid propulsion system can handle the
short-time power pulse from the propulsion motor of the UAV.
The FC/Battery hybrid propulsion systems in UAVs also exhibit some
problems. For instance, when a battery is connected with the FC system,
the coordinated voltage control problem between the two power sources
should be addressed in Ref. [42]. One or two DC-DC converters can be
installed to achieve the coordinated voltage control between the two
power sources [60,93]. However, the DC-DC converter increases the
weight of the power propulsion system, which could ultimately affect
the payload and the flight endurance of the UAV. If the battery pack
consists of multiple batteries, then a battery management system is
recommended to balance the voltage and the operating current of each
battery [46,53]. Although increasing the number of batteries can
Fig. 11. Power loss diagram of the FC propulsion system in a UAV [91].
improve the power performance of the power propulsion system, adding
batteries can reduce the specific energy of the FC/Battery hybrid power
source. As shown in Fig. 12, the FC stack used as the major power source
requires a large space of the fuselage [89]. Therefore, the battery pack

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B. Wang et al. Progress in Aerospace Sciences 116 (2020) 100620

hardware-in-the-loop (HITL) simulator to study an FC/Batter­

y/Supercapacitor hybrid propulsion system of a UAV. The super­
capacitor was used to conduct power smoothing for the FC which
improved the FC durability. Moreover, compared with the FC/Battery
hybrid propulsion system, previous results [44,45] showed that the
FC/Battery/Supercapacitor hybrid propulsion system achieved a faster
response to the dynamic electrical loads [44,45]. Gong et al. [44,99]
also conducted an experimental study based on the actual flight test in a
fixed-wing UAV, as shown in Fig. 13. Their results showed that the
supercapacitor could supply the peak power and prevent the fluctuating
power to shock the FC under varying flight conditions.
Some outstanding issues also exist with the FC/Battery/Super­
capacitor hybrid propulsion system. For the supercapacitor, the output
voltage significantly changes in accordance with its residual energy
[96]. As a result, it is a big challenge to guarantee the stable output
voltage for the propulsion motor in the UAV by only using a super­
capacitor [100]. Therefore, only using a supercapacitor as the auxiliary
power source is not the perfect solution for the FC hybrid propulsion
system in UAVs. In UAV applications, it is not recommended to directly
connect the supercapacitor to the DC-bus or load. In addition, since the
energy storage capacity of the supercapacitor is not satisfactory, engi­
neers are inclined to integrate the supercapacitor with the battery to
compensate for the FC power output [44,45,99].

4.3. Hybrid with solar cell

Fig. 12. Integration of the FC with a battery in the fuselage of an aircraft [89].
Recently, the application of solar cells on the UAV’s wing to generate
electric power for the propulsion system has attracted considerable at­
with a suitable size (number) should be employed as an auxiliary power
tentions, since the solar energy is an unlimited renewable source of
source for the FC/Battery hybrid propulsion systems in UAVs.
energy from the sun [101,102]. It was demonstrated that an FC/Bat­
tery/Solar cell hybrid propulsion system could achieve about twice the
4.2. Hybrid with supercapacitor flight time in a small UAV compared to the pure FC propulsion system
[103]. The improvement in endurance would result in lower operational
Supercapacitors as an emerging energy storage device have been and maintenance costs of the power sources in the UAVs. For the
attracting increasing attention [44,94]. Compared with the FC/Battery/Solar cell hybrid propulsion system, the solar cell is not used
lithium-based batteries, a much higher instantaneous power output can as an auxiliary power source [48,53,104]. Instead, it is used as a primary
be achieved by the supercapacitor. Table 3 shows a comprehensive power source in parallel with the FC during daylight. Indeed, solar cells
comparison among the supercapacitor and two types of batteries [1,94]. could also just hybrid with batteries for some light UAVs to achieve long
Because of the fast charging and discharging technologies, the super­ endurance and cruising missions, if the daylight duration is long [49,
capacitor has incomparable advantages in the application of the emer­ 105,106].
gency supply in UAVs. Furthermore, with the specific double-layer In previous studies [47,48,107], a UAV powered by PEMFC/Batter­
structure, the internal resistance of the supercapacitor is very small, y/Solar cell hybrid power system, as shown in Fig. 14, was evaluated
such that extremely high charging and discharging efficiency can be based on a 1.5 h flight test. To track the solar power and ensure the
achieved [95,96]. system reliability of this hybrid power system, an MPPT controller in­
Unlike batteries, the energy storage capacity of supercapacitors can tegrated with a battery pack was designed to regulate the power output
be maintained at low operating temperatures [45,94,95]. Thus at high of solar cells. Then, using a power switching scheme for controlling the
altitudes or in cold weather adding a supercapacitor pack can enhance FC power and solar power according to the mission profile, the flight
the overall performance of the power devices in propulsion systems. A endurance of the UAV can be effectively improved. It should be noted
typical example is the PEMFC/Battery/Supercapacitor hybrid emer­ that, with the solar cells on the UAV’s wing, the weight of the energy
gency power system in the more-electric aircrafts [40,97]. This hybrid storage device can be reduced [47,52,105]. Undoubtedly, this UAV
emergency power system benefits from the advantage of the unin­ powered by the PEMFC/Battery/Solar cell hybrid power system can
terruptible power supply from the supercapacitor. With this hybrid carry heavier items and larger sensor payloads [107]. In Ref. [48], Lee
emergency power system, the lifetimes of both the FC and battery can be et al. tested a UAV powered by a passive FC/Battery/Solar cell hybrid
improved [40,98]. In Ref. [44], Gong et al. used the power system. With the passive hybrid propulsion system, no DC-DC
converters or controllers were employed, such that the three power
Table 3 sources would operate with the same operating voltage. For this reason,
Comprehensive comparison among the supercapacitor and two types of batteries the use of the supercapacitor and solar cells in the passive construction
[1,94]. would be inefficient.
Evidently, the electric power generated by solar cells is heavily
Types Specific Specific power Cycle-life Operating
energy efficiency dependent on solar irradiance, which varies seasonally and under
different weather conditions. Therefore, solar power is not stable along
Lithium- 180 Wh/kg 2800 W/kg >1000 >90%
polymer with the changes of solar flux and weather conditions [105]. Thus, solar
Lithium-ion 90–200 500–2000 W/kg >1000 >90% power may not be an optimal option under conditions of low or no solar
Wh/kg irradiance, especially under the condition of the raining weather. In
Supercapacitor 4–15 Wh/ 1000–10,000 >100,000 >95% addition, if a passive FC/Battery/Solar cell hybrid propulsion system is
kg W/kg
employed in a UAV, the battery would play a small role to adjust the

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B. Wang et al. Progress in Aerospace Sciences 116 (2020) 100620

Fig. 13. FC/Battery/Supercapacitor hybrid power source in a fixed-wing UAV [1,44].

Fig. 14. FC/Battery/Solar cell hybrid power system in a UAV [47].

solar power, and the solar conversion efficiency would become low. To
improve the solar conversion efficiency, an MPPT controller is recom­
mended for controlling the power output of solar cells [47,49].
In the past decades, researchers have tried to use the batteries, the
supercapacitors, the solar cells to integrate with FCs as hybrid propul­
sion systems of UAVs [1,36,47]. Of all the electric power sources, the
battery is an essential energy storage device that can achieve the stable
output of the propulsion system [1,5,54,89,103]. In addition, to further
enhance the endurance of UAVs, the FC hybrid with solar power is a
promising scheme for daylight flight mission in good weather [101,
105]. When the UAVs have emergency power supply requirements
under harsh flight conditions, a supercapacitor pack could be used as an
uninterruptable power supply to solve this problem satisfactorily [40].
5. Hybrid construction
Hybrid constructions significantly affect the overall performance of
the FC hybrid propulsion systems. According to the literature [50], the
construction design of hybrid propulsion systems should consider three
main purposes: 1) regulation, 2) protection and 3) balancing. 1) Regu­
lation means that the DC-bus voltage, and the output voltage/current of
the power sources can be actively controlled by regulators. 2) Protection
means that the output power of the power sources can be decoupled and
no interference between each other such that the safety of each power
source can be guaranteed. In particular, FCs require no reverse current
and surge power to ensure the safe operation and to extend their lifetime
[25,52]. 3) Balancing means that the hybrid construction can match the
output voltage of each power source and then effectively exploit the

Fig. 15. Direct hybrid construction.

10
B. Wang et al.
Fig. 16. Indirect hybrid constructions of the FC/Battery hybrid propulsion system.
superiorities of power sources to implement the power distribution,
simultaneously.
As the simplest way, the direct hybrid construction can be designed
for the FC/battery hybrid propulsion systems [41,93]. However, the
output voltage of the two power sources of this construction might not
match each other, since the FC output voltage drops along with the in­
crease of output power. Therefore, a power diode should be employed to
prevent the reverse current from damaging the FC, as shown in Fig. 15
(a). When the solar cells are installed on the wing of a UAV, the direct
hybrid construction could also be employed for the FC/Battery/Solar
power hybrid propulsion system, as shown in Fig. 15(b) [52,104]. The
drawback of these direct hybrid constructions is that the output power of
the power sources cannot be actively regulated. Especially for the
FC/Battery/Solar power hybrid system, the solar cell and the FC cannot
generate the available electric power until their voltage is equal to or
higher than the battery output voltage.
To actively regulate the power sources, the indirect hybrid con­
struction was proposed [93]. The regulators are the DC-DC converters
Fig. 17. Constructions of the FC/Battery/Supercapacitor hybrid propulsion system.
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Progress in Aerospace Sciences 116 (2020) 100620
which can convert energy from one power source to the load bus or other
power sources. In previous studies [42,54,60,93,104], three types of
indirect hybrid constructions were proposed for the FC/Battery hybrid
propulsion systems [42,54,60,93,104]. For the first indirect hybrid
construction, the FC is indirectly connected to a unidirectional DC-DC
converter, as shown in Fig. 16(a) [54,93]. With this construction, the
output power of the FC can be actively regulated, while the battery
connected with the DC-bus should directly absorb or supply the addi­
tional power. The advantage of this construction is that the DC-bus
voltage is equal to the battery voltage, which is very stable. FC is iso­
lated from the variable load such that its operating safety can be effec­
tively guaranteed. This construction is also called the semi-active
FC/Battery hybrid construction because only the FC can be actively
controlled.
The second indirect hybrid construction changes the positions of the
FC and the battery [42,43]. Different from the FC, the battery has both
charging and discharging modes. Therefore, the unidirectional DC-DC
converter should be replaced by the bidirectional DC-DC converter, as
B. Wang et al.
shown in Fig. 16(b) [43]. With this hybrid construction, the main power
source (i.e., FC) can directly provide power to the DC-bus to reduce the
energy loss of the DC-DC conversion. However, the forward and back­
ward operating modes of the bidirectional DC-DC converter should be
switched frequently, such that additional energy waste cannot be avoi­
ded. In addition, the FC output may be influenced by the fluctuating load
due to it directly connects to the DC-bus, which tremendously decreases
the FC lifetime. This construction is also called the semi-active Batter­
y/FC hybrid construction because it changes the positions of the FC and
the battery.
To achieve that all the power sources can be actively regulated, the
third indirect hybrid construction uses two DC-DC converters to control
the power sources, respectively [11,60,94]. As shown in Fig. 16(c), the
output power of the two power sources can be completely decoupled
with no interference between each other. Therefore, the DC-bus voltage,
the output voltage and output power of each power source can be
actively regulated [11,108,109]. Thus, this construction is also called
the fully active FC/Battery hybrid construction. With this construction,
both the FC and the battery are isolated from the DC-bus to guarantee
their safety. However, two DC-DC converters require a large space to
install them, and also increase the weight of the hybrid propulsion
system. The large space would violate the small and lightweight design
of the UAV. An increase in weight implies that the load is increased,
which would ultimately affect the flight endurance of the UAVs.
If a supercapacitor is introduced into the FC/battery hybrid propul­
sion system, three DC-DC converters could be employed to separately
control the power sources, as shown in Fig. 17(a) [1,110]. The output
voltage of the supercapacitor drops along with the decrease of its stored
energy [96]. So the bidirectional DC-DC converter is an indispensable
part to control the supercapacitor. Similarly, this construction is also
called the fully active FC/Battery/Supercapacitor hybrid construction.
In order to reduce the mass of this triple power sources hybrid propul­
sion system, the battery could be designed to directly provide power
without the bidirectional DC-DC converter, as shown in Fig. 17(b) [45].
With the Semi-active FC/Battery/Supercapacitor hybrid construction,
the coordination of the three power sources is very straightforward: the
battery would provide stable voltage for the DC-bus, while the super­
capacitor would provide or absorb the peak power to improve the power
performance of the hybrid propulsion system and ensure that the FC can
work with a steady and high-efficiency mode [93]. Meanwhile, the FC
would provide continuous power output for the whole propulsion
system.
For the FC/Battery/Solar cell hybrid propulsion systems, the con­
structions are similar to the FC/Battery/Supercapacitor hybrid propul­
sion system, as shown in Fig. 18 [52,104]. In general, an MPPT
controller is integrated with the DC-DC converter to achieve the
Fig. 18. Constructions of two FC/Battery/Solar cell hybrid propulsion systems.
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Progress in Aerospace Sciences 116 (2020) 100620
maximum power tracking control for the solar cell [55]. The fully active
FC/Battery/Solar cell hybrid construction is shown in Fig. 18(a) [52].
The integration design of the MPPT DC-DC converter can effectively
reduce the weight and volume of the DC-DC converter. Similarly, a
battery pack is recommended to directly connect the DC-bus to reduce
the weight and volume of the overall system, as shown in Fig. 18(b).
According to the aforementioned analysis, the direct hybrid con­
struction cannot effectively control the power sources or exploit the
advantages of each power source. As a result, the power distribution is
passive, and the overall efficiency of the FC hybrid propulsion system is
very low. For future perspectives, the FC hybrid propulsion systems
based on direct hybrid constructions are not suitable for high-
performance and long-endurance UAVs. For these indirect hybrid con­
structions, using two or more DC-DC converters would increase the mass
and volume of the overall system, which is against the target of light­
weight design and miniaturization of the UAV. However, the DC-DC
converters must be installed to manage the power sources such as FCs,
supercapacitors and solar cells. In conclusion, the semi-active hybrid
constructions might be the best scheme for the commercial small UAVs
due to it uses a small number of DC-DC converters. For the semi-active
hybrid construction, it is recommended to directly connect the battery
pack with the DC-bus to reduce the weight and volume of the propulsion
system. In addition, for these FC hybrid propulsion systems including
solar cells, it is recommended to integrate an MPPT controller with the
DC-DC converter to achieve the maximum power tracking control of the
solar power. Under current technical conditions, improving the specific
power of the DC-DC converter, reducing the weight, and improving the
reliability remain challenges for the construction design of hybrid pro­
pulsion systems in UAVs.
6. FC-ICE hybrid propulsion systems
In addition to the pure electric propulsion systems, FCs can also be
used in the hybrid engine-electric propulsion systems [14,111]. For
military and civilian UAVs with high-speed flight and long endurance
requirements, engineers still tend to use ICEs such as gas turbines or jet
engines supply power for the propulsion systems [18,70,112]. ICEs can
use gas or liquid-state fuel to achieve a high load operation for a long
time. This has incomparable advantages in terms of power density when
compared with the pure electric propulsion systems powered by batte­
ries or FCs [18,113]. Therefore, ICEs as power sources are still the most
practical scheme for these long endurance and large load UAVs.
Nevertheless, the electric power fraction for some military and
civilian UAVs is indispensable and is higher than that for conventional
civilian aircrafts, because these UAVs have various actuators, sensors
and electronic controller units [32,40,112]. Although some actuators or
B. Wang et al.
Fig. 19. Configuration of the SOFC-GT hybrid system [112].
controllers can be driven by the ICE-based auxiliary power units (APUs),
the drawbacks of these conventional APUs or engine-driven systems in
aircrafts are the low-efficiency and low-response rate, while using
electric power sources (such as FCs and batteries) integrated with ICEs to
compose hybrid engine-electric propulsion systems can effectively
compensate for these drawbacks [12,31,58,114]. In fact, the electrical
power fraction of the hybrid engine-electric propulsion systems in next
generation advanced aircrafts or UAVs is continuously increasing [31,
40]. According to the integrated approaches of the composed hybrid
engine-electric propulsion systems, the FC-ICE hybrid propulsion sys­
tems are divided into two types: 1) internal integration [66] and 2)
external power integration [115].
6.1. Internal integration
The internal integration of the FC-ICE hybrid propulsion systems
means that the FC should be installed internally in the engines. The
Fig. 20. SOFC-jet engine hybrid system: (a) Schematic diagrams of the turbine-less jet engine integrated with a fuel cell and steam injection; (b) Possible actual
configuration of the engine [71].
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Progress in Aerospace Sciences 116 (2020) 100620
novelty of the internal integration is that not only the FC system can
provide electric power to drive the compressor of the jet engines but also
the exhaust of the FC system can later enter the combustor and produce
propulsion power [66,69,70]. With the internal integration, the fuel
reutilization can be achieved such that the energy efficiency would be
further improved.
The best representatives for the internal integration are various
SOFC/gas turbine (GT) hybrid systems [13,70,112,115,116]. The
SOFC-GT hybrid systems have been proposed and further studied since
1990s [117–120]. As shown in Fig. 19, the SOFC is integrated with the
GT’s bypass flow path [112]. In an SOFC-GT hybrid system, most of the
compressed air is directly injected into the burner for the fuel combus­
tion. Part of the compressed air and fuel would be used to feed the SOFC
[112,113]. Then, the SOFC would generate electric power and the
byproducts are the preheated air and unconverted fuel (SOFC exhaust).
Next, the byproducts are injected into the combustor to be burned
further. Finally, the propulsive power still comes from the nozzle of the
turbojet.
With the SOFC-GT hybrid system, the fuel directly injected into the
SOFC can convert to the electric power with up to 50~60% energy ef­
ficiency [116]. The electric power is supplied to the compressor of the
GT and the APU in UAVs or aircrafts. Consequently, the operating effi­
ciency of the SOFC-based APUs increases by approximately 10–20%
when compared with the operating efficiency of the GT-based APUs [31,
114]. Thus, the SOFC-based APUs have been widely studied in more
electric powered aircrafts and UAVs [31,116].
Some UAVs also use conventional external integration schemes (no
fuel reutilization) of the SOFC-GT hybrid systems [115]. However, the
internal integration scheme has more superiorities than the external
integration scheme. For instance, this internal integration scheme re­
duces the energy losses in the subsystems. On the other hand, under
high-pressure operation conditions, both the operating efficiency and
the power density of the SOFC can be improved. In addition, the
maintained CPOx/SOFC temperature can further improve the combus­
tion efficiency of the GT system [112].
B. Wang et al.
Another scheme for the internal integration is the SOFC-jet engine
hybrid system. As shown in Fig. 20, the SOFC is integrated with a motor
inside the jet engine to drive the compressor [71]. By adopting this in­
ternal integration, the turbine is replaced by the motor of the SOFC
system. Meanwhile, the exhausts of the SOFC are at a very
high-temperature so that the compressed air can be preheated by the
exhaust of the SOFC cathode recirculation. While the high-temperature
exhausts (i.e., air, fuel and steam from the anode recirculation) can also
enter the combustor. The exhausts of the SOFC would be further used to
burn and expand to generate propulsion power in the exhaust nozzle.
The SOFC-jet engine hybrid system was firstly proposed by Li at
California State University [121]. However, this turbine-less jet engine
system is still immature. In the last decade, considerable computational
simulations and some experimental studies have been performed to
promote the development of the SOFC-jet engine technologies [66,
122–124].
Because high-temperature SOFCs are recommended for the internal
integration schemes, the SOFC-GT systems or SOFC-jet hybrid engine
systems need to consider the internal mechanical and chemical
compatibility in the GTs or jet engines. Hence, the internal integration
schemes for combining the electric power and mechanical power of the
ICE are very complex. The internal integration technology still stays at
the stage of theoretical analysis and lab-scale experiments. Further
theoretical and experimental research works are required.
6.2. External power integration
As mentioned above, the internal integration schemes for combining
the electric power and mechanical power are very complex. For the
hybrid engine-electric propulsion system, a simple and mature scheme
to combine the electric power and mechanical power is the external
power integration [15,125]. The advantage of the external power inte­
gration scheme is that this integration scheme does not need to consider
the internal mechanical and chemical compatibility between the SOFCs
and GTs/jet engines [18]. Moreover, in external power integration
schemes, low-temperature FCs such as PEMFCs and DMFCs can be in­
tegrated with ICEs [15,31,125].
Different from the internal integration schemes, the final propulsive
power comes from the motor or the ICE, or a power coupler which can
combine the power output of the ICE and the motor for the external
power integration schemes [14]. Compared with conventional
ICE-based propulsion systems, the operating efficiency of the electric
propulsion systems is higher, such that the fuel economy of hybrid
engine-electric UAVs/aircrafts can be improved [126]. On the other
hand, the response speed of the electric drive system is much faster, such
Fig. 21. Series construction of a hybrid engine-electric propulsion system.
14
Progress in Aerospace Sciences 116 (2020) 100620
that the dynamic response performance of the whole FC-ICE hybrid
propulsion system can be improved [2]. Like the hybrid engine-electric
driven systems in hybrid EVs (HEVs), three mainstream constructions of
the FC-ICE hybrid propulsion systems can be employed to achieve the
external power integration schemes, including: 1) series construction; 2)
parallel construction and 3) compound serious-parallel construction (is
also called the power-split construction) [60,127,128]. They are sum­
marized as follows.
The series construction of the FC-ICE hybrid propulsion system is
shown in Fig. 21 [12,15,125]. The final propulsive power comes from
the motor and the ICE is integrated with a generator to produce electric
power [15]. Since the PEMFC cannot be used as a power buffer or an
energy absorption device, the electric power generated by the ICE would
be stored in the battery. Meanwhile, the electric power generated by the
FC is also injected into the battery. Then, the battery output power is
supplied to the motor to drive the propeller of the UAVs/aircrafts. With
this design, the output power of the ICE and FC system can be regulated
by the battery, simultaneously. Both the ICE and the PEMFC in this
construction can work with their peak-efficiency points, which would
effectively improve the fuel economy of UAVs under different flight
conditions, when compared with the conventional ICE-based construc­
tions. In addition, the final electric propulsive power is smoother than
the engine power. It can suppress the mechanical vibration and make the
propulsion system more stable and reliable.
To achieve the parallel output between the motor and the engine, a
torque or power coupler device should be installed [15,129]. The par­
allel construction of the hybrid engine-electric propulsion system is
illustrated in Fig. 22. It can be seen that the power coupler can be
achieved by the gear box. In this construction, the ICE can directly
provide power to the propulsion motor through the gear box instead of
the generator. Thus, it can reduce the energy conversion losses from the
mechanical energy to the electrical energy. It should be noted that the
ICE can also drive the motor/generator to generate the electric power
[129]. However, a clutch should be installed between the ICE and the
motor/generator to achieve power decoupling and coupling. For EV
applications, the gear boxes are very suitable for multi-speed control
adjustment [130,131]. However, the gear box and the clutch are heavy
and have a large volume, which are disadvantages for the small size and
lightweight design of UAVs. On the other hand, a complicated control
system should be designed for controlling the clutch, the positive and
negative rotation of the motor/generator.
By referring to the Toyota Prius HEV [132–134], a planetary gear can
be used for the external power integration of the motor and the ICE, as
shown in Fig. 23. This construction combining both the series and par­
allel design features is called the compound serious-parallel
B. Wang et al. Progress in Aerospace Sciences 116 (2020) 100620

Fig. 22. Parallel construction of the hybrid engine-electric propulsion system.

Fig. 23. Compound serious-parallel (power-split) construction of hybrid engine-electric propulsion system.

construction. It is also called the power-split construction, since it em­ conduct an alternative performance analysis about the flight factors,
ploys a planetary gear to achieve the power distribution between the including the appreciable environment factors, the uncertain regional
motor and the engine [131]. Compared with the gear box, the planetary factors and the self-factors based on flight missions.
gear is much smaller and lighter [132]. On the other hand, the trans­
mission efficiency of the planetary gear is also higher than that of the
7.1. Impact of appreciable environment factors
conventional gear box [133]. It is very suitable for the integrated design
of the electro-mechanical coupling systems [131]. Compared with the
The appreciable environment factors including ambient tempera­
gear box, although the planetary gear can reduce mass, the additional
ture, relative humidity, and atmospheric pressure have a direct impact
mass of the generator in the power-split construction cannot be ignored.
on the FC performance as well as the overall performance of the FC
For small UAVs, the construction in Fig. 21 is the preferred choice.
hybrid propulsion system [56]. For FCs, an optimum range of the
However, when designing the hybrid engine-electric propulsion system
ambient temperature is recommended for accelerating its electro­
for these large UAVs/aircrafts with the multi-speed control re­
chemical reactions [135]. When the ambient temperature is too low or
quirements, the gear box and planetary gear constructions in Figs. 22–23
too high, the electrochemical reactions into the FC would obviously slow
would be worth considering.
down. In this case, the FC would work with low power output perfor­
mance. Furthermore, the low power output performance of the FC
7. Impacts of flight factors
would degrade the overall power performance of the FC hybrid pro­
pulsion system. Meanwhile, the ambient temperature is also relevant for
In addition to hybrid constructions, the FC performance as well as
the thermal management of the FC [136]. In high ambient temperature,
the overall performance of the FC hybrid propulsion system in UAVs
the additional energy consumption will increase, because a motor fan is
would also be affected by various flight factors [51]. This paper will
used to cool the FC. In contrast, in the extraordinarily cold temperature,

15
B. Wang et al. Progress in Aerospace Sciences 116 (2020) 100620

it is very difficult for the cold-start of FC [137]. Both the fuel and the FC There is no doubt that the power generation capability of solar cells
stack should be heated with extra/additional energy input, which re­ would have considerable impacts on the overall performance of the
duces the energy efficiency [37]. The additional energy consumption FC/Battery/Solar cells hybrid propulsion system. If the solar irradiance
can reduce the overall efficiency of the FC hybrid propulsion system. is lower in a country/city, a larger wingspan covered with solar cells is
Relative humidity of the atmosphere is another important impact required for generating enough electric power [101]. However, using a
factor for FC performances. In Ref. [26], it was shown that the humidity large wingspan would increase the UAV’s take-off weight. In addition, to
of the atmosphere is very relevant for electrochemical reactions of the improve the flight endurance under extreme weather, such as cloudy
PEMFC. Without the humidification system, a low relative humidity of days and rainy days, a larger tank that can store enough fuel is required.
the atmosphere leads to a low water activity in the cathode, thus Therefore, batteries are recommended to integrate with the FC/Solar
resulting in weak proton conductivity and additional ohmic losses [26]. cell hybrid power system to enhance the system reliability [104].
It should be noted that the impacts of the relative humidity are very Nevertheless, adding solar cells, the fuel or the batteries would increase
different from the types of FCs. In Ref. [6], it demonstrated that the the weight, which would ultimately affect the flight endurance of the
relative humidity affects PEMFC performance significantly. However, UAVs. Therefore, reasonable dimensions or parameter matching prob­
DMFC performance is negligibly affected by the relative humidity of the lems of the FC/Battery/Solar cell hybrid propulsion system should be
atmosphere, since the fuel of the DMFC is the water/methanol mixture, carefully addressed based on the solar irradiance under different lon­
which is always in the liquid phase. Therefore, for these UAV applica­ gitudes and latitudes.
tions with different relative humidity atmospheres, the selection of FC
type should be carefully considered. Sometimes, the impacts of the
7.3. Impact of self-factors based on flight missions
relative humidity and ambient temperature are co-existed. For instance,
with the high operating temperature, water in liquid phase can easily be
7.3.1. Cruising speed
evaporated, so the FC performance is degraded. Ref. [51] found that a
The self-factors based on the flight missions include the cruising
poor response occurred with the FC, when the weather was dry and very
speed and the climbing power [48,57]. For a UAV powered by the
hot.
FC/Battery hybrid propulsion system, the maximum cruising speed
In addition to the ambient temperature and the relative humidity,
should be limited according to the maximum output power of the FC, or
the atmospheric pressure could also have an influence on the FC per­
the battery would be discharged completely during the cruising mode of
formance. A low atmospheric pressure is related to the activation po­
the UAV [42]. Moreover, for the same flight mission, the fuel con­
larization loss on the FC cathode [138]. Previous research [26] showed
sumption and the total energy consumption are qualitatively different
that the degradation of the polarization curve was caused by the low
from the different cruising speeds. In general, the total fuel consumption
pressure of the atmosphere [26]. In addition, both low pressure and
monotonically increases with increasing cruise speed. On the other
ambient temperature can also affect the hydrogen storage. When the
hand, the cruising speed is not linearly related to the total fuel con­
external pressure is significantly low or the ambient temperature is high,
sumption [57].
the storage capacity of hydrogen can be reduced. The inner and outer
As shown in Table 4, an approximately 40% increase in cruising
vessel design should be reconsidered for these special applications with
speed only leads to an increase of fuel consumption by 7.8% for a UAV
extremely low pressure and high temperature [35], depending on the
powered by an FC/Battery hybrid propulsion system. Although the en­
altitude and region (longitude and latitude).
ergy consumption is increased exponentially in accordance with the
speed, the mission duration can be reduced. As a reference, when
7.2. Impacts of uncertain regional factors
designing the cruising mission, the total energy consumption and the
mission duration should be considered simultaneously. In addition, it
The uncertain regional factors include altitude, longitude and lati­
should be noted that the operating efficiency of the propulsion motor
tude. Impacts of altitude are obvious for these FC hybrid propulsion
can also be changed in accordance with the different cruising speeds.
systems in UAVs [15,26,101,105]. As expected, the atmosphere at high
altitudes would be characterized by cold temperature and low pressure.
7.3.2. Climbing power
So the high altitude would indirectly lead to the same impacts of the
The climbing profile of the UAV should be designed according to the
appreciable environment factors for FC hybrid propulsion systems in
capacity and output performance of the battery [11,42]. During climb­
UAVs [1,26]. At the high altitude, another serious concern is that less
ing, the battery would provide the peak-power, the maximum climbing
oxygen could be obtained when compared with that at the low altitude,
power should not exceed the combined peak-power of the battery plus
which would cause an oxygen starvation issue for the FC [2]. As a result,
the FC. If the climbing power requires that the battery must provide
the FC power output is insufficient, and part of the fuel would be wasted.
overload power, the battery temperature would increase quickly such
Indeed, the impacts of the flight altitude are instant for the FC hybrid
that its lifetime is shortened tremendously. Furthermore, if the battery
propulsion system.
continuously supplies the peak-power, its terminal voltage would drop,
Different from the flight altitude, the longitude and latitude have
thereby leading to the insufficient power output of the overall FC hybrid
long-term impacts on FC performances [105]. With different longitude
propulsion system [42]. Typically, the conservative climbing profile
and latitude, the seasons and the corresponding weathers are markedly
should be in accordance with 30–65% of the available stored energy of
different. For instance, some regions influenced by the seasonal factors
the battery [57]. According to these requirements, the battery capacity
would always have a relatively high temperature and rainy days. In this
design should ensure that it can provide approximately 1.5–3.3 times of
case, the relatively high humidity and hot weather are maintained (e.g.
climbing energy. Although the higher climbing power is in accordance
weather in the rainforests of Africa), which would have long-term im­
with the climbing speed, which can reduce the climbing time, more
pacts on the FC performance. Similarly, the uncertain regional factors
might also lead to dry and cold weather (e.g. weather in the desert area
of Northwest China). To improve the overall performance of the FC Table 4
Fuel consumption of the UAV based on different cruising speed [57].
hybrid propulsion systems of UAVs, the humidification and heating
systems should be taken into consideration for designing the FC system Cruising speed Fuel consumption Increase of fuel consumption
[26]. 14.6 m/s 8.18 g Baseline
Around the world, the solar irradiance significantly varies with the 20.5 m/s 8.82 g 7.8%
longitude and latitude in different countries/cities. Accordingly, the 22.5 m/s 9.55 g 16.7%
24 m/s 10.57 g 29.2%
electric power generated by solar cells is dramatically changed [105].

16
B. Wang et al.
energy would be consumed such that the flight endurance is reduced.
Therefore, a suitable power profile should be designed by considering
the flight requirements, the maximum output power of the power
sources and the operating efficiency of the overall FC hybrid propulsion
system.
In practical applications, UAVs fly at different altitudes, longitudes
and latitudes at different regions/countries all over the world. The
diversified flight would cross clouds and undergo various weather
conditions such that the solar irradiance, the ambient temperature, the
atmospheric humidity and pressure are significantly changed. The pre­
vious studies showed that the appreciable environment factors would
directly affect the FC performance as well as the overall performance of
the FC hybrid propulsion systems [26]. The uncertain regional factors
might lead to changes in the ambient temperature, relative humidity,
and pressure, which has indirect instant and long-term impacts on the
overall performance of the FC hybrid propulsion system. In addition, the
solar irradiance significantly varies with the longitude and latitude in
different regions, which would affect flight endurance and the take-off
weight of the UAVs powered by the FC/Battery/Solar cell hybrid pro­
pulsion systems. In summary, the cruising speed and climbing power
would affect the overall efficiency of the FC hybrid propulsion system,
and thus ultimately affect the flight endurance of the UAV. The studies of
these impacts would provide technical guidances for the FC type selec­
tion, hydrogen storage design, design of humidification and heating
systems of the FC, parameter matching and power profile design of these
FC/Battery and FC/Battery/Solar cell hybrid propulsion systems in
UAVs.
8. Energy management strategies
To guarantee high-efficiency energy usage for different types of
power sources in a UAV, an energy or power management strategy is of
crucial importance for the FC hybrid propulsion system [11,40,47].
Even for the direct hybrid construction, although the power distribution
is passively implemented, some constraint rules should be designed to
achieve the power management of the power sources [50]. For instance,
in a direct hybrid construction (passive FC/Battery hybrid propulsion
system), the maximum output power of the FC should be limited to
ensure the safety during battery charging [139]. This method is very
simple with a passive constraint rule. It is also called the passive control
method for the energy or power management of the FC/Battery hybrid
propulsion system.
For these indirect hybrid constructions, more constraint conditions
should be included for the EMS to enhance the operating efficiency of
the overall system and the safety of the power sources [40]. For instance,
the output power and the operating voltage of the FC should be actively
controlled according to its peak-efficiency region. Therefore, the active
Fig. 24. Active PMS of an FC/Battery/Solar cell hybrid power system in the UAV [53].
17
Progress in Aerospace Sciences 116 (2020) 100620
control should be implemented for the energy management. In UAV
applications, the energy or power management system (PMS) employed
the micro-controller and the DC-DC converters would take up part of the
space and mass of the UAV, as shown in Fig. 24 [53]. According to
previous studies [39,40,45,88,125], active control methods include
state machine control [40], fuzzy logic [88,125], PI (proportiona­
l-integral) control [39,45], direct optimal energy consumption control
[45], and intelligent control algorithms [11,45].
The state machine control strategy is a type of rule-based strategy. It
is designed based on heuristic or empiric past experiences. In a previous
study [40], eight states are set up based on specified thresholds of the
battery state of charge (SOC) and the load requirement. Each state
agrees with an FC reference current or power. According to the FC
reference current/power and the operating efficiency of the DC-DC
converter, the actual FC output power can be obtained. It should be
noted that the power demand is at high frequency, and a hysteresis
control scheme can be designed to avoid the high-frequency mode
switching of the FC hybrid propulsion system among different operating
modes [45]. For the state machine control strategy, the control perfor­
mance is determined by experienced engineers who should be very
familiar with the operating characteristic of the FC and the battery.
The fuzzy logic control strategy is an improved rule-based strategy.
To achieve the energy or power management for the FC hybrid pro­
pulsion system, fuzzy logic rules such as ‘If the battery SOC is high (H)
and the load demand is medium (M), then the output power of the FC is
Medium (M)’ are applied [45]. These fuzzy control rules can be derived
from the state machine control strategy [140]. Moreover, the member­
ship function, the inference decision and the decoupled fuzzy styles can
simulate human intelligence and reasoning, which is more flexible and
reasonable to calculate the reference output power of the FC. However,
the design of the fuzzy rules is also based on past engineering experi­
ences, which can be further improved by other algorithms. For instance,
the multiple model predictive algorithm can be used to combine the
fuzzy control to minimize the modeling error, and to improve the control
effect for the FC in an FC/Supercapacitor hybrid propulsion system
[100].
Different from the fuzzy logic control strategy, the knowledge and
past experiences are not necessary for the PI control strategies [40,45].
For instance, with a baseline standard of the DC-bus voltage, the PI
controller adjusts the power output of the DC-DC converter to change
the FC output power, which can achieve an active power balance be­
tween the FC and the battery. With the PI controller applied, the FC can
supply the steady-state power to the load, such that its safety can be
guaranteed [39,40]. Furthermore, PI control parameters can be tuned
online. If the battery output voltage is low, the PI controller should
automatically reduce the parameters of the PI controller to prevent the
FC from overloading. In other words, the energy management system
B. Wang et al.
limits the output power of the FC according to the PI control strategy.
The state machine control strategy, the PI control strategy, and the
fuzzy logic control strategy are simple, which can be implemented on-
line. The strategies definitely ensure the real-time power distribution
among different power sources [11,40]. However, the above strategies
depend on the past engineering experiences or only focus on the stable
and constant power output of the FC, which cannot ensure the energy
management optimization of the whole FC hybrid propulsion system.
Thus these control strategies can be further improved by other energy
management optimization methods.
The most direct energy management optimization method for the FC
hybrid propulsion system is to reduce energy consumption or fuel con­
sumption [11,45,98]. For the optimal energy consumption strategy, the
control target is the minimization of the total energy consumption of the
FC hybrid propulsion system. For instance, a cost function can be
established based on the fuel consumption or the electric energy con­
sumption. For the convenience of comprehensive evaluation, the electric
energy consumption from the auxiliary power source can be equivalent
to the fuel consumption [45].
The popular intelligent control algorithms can also be used to
directly or indirectly reduce the energy consumption [11,12,45]. For
instance, the neural network (NN) is a type of intelligent optimization
algorithms that has been used for energy management of the FC hybrid
propulsion system [12,29]. The NN control algorithm can be imple­
mented with nonlinear mapping [12]. In Ref. [141], an adaptive NN
control method is combined with the fuzzy logic control algorithm to
adjust the air supply for the electrochemical reaction optimization of the
FC, which could finally improve the energy consumption for the
FC/Battery hybrid propulsion system. In addition to the NN control al­
gorithm, other optimization algorithms such as genetic algorithm and
evolutionary algorithm were studied for FC hybrid propulsion systems in
previous studies [11,92]. Noticed that, these intelligent control algo­
rithms may require a considerable amount of time, such that they cannot
be implemented online. In other words, these intelligent control algo­
rithms cannot effectively realize the real-time optimization for the en­
ergy management of the FC hybrid propulsion systems. However, when
the UAV’s load profile is known in advance, the off-line optimization
method based on intelligent control algorithms can be used to reduce the
fuel or energy consumption of the FC hybrid propulsion system. For
instance, after establishing the cost function of the fuel consumption, the
salp swarm algorithm can be used for the optimization of the final en­
ergy consumption [45]. Then, the power distribution between the power
sources can be determined. In addition to the energy consumption
optimization, the service life of the power sources and switching fre­
quency of the operating modes can also be considered as optimization
objectives, since they are relevant to the durability and reliability of the
hybrid propulsion system, respectively [142].
In summary, according to different hybrid constructions and flight
requirements of the FC hybrid propulsion system, passive or active
control strategies should be implemented for the energy management.
The passive control using limited and invariable constraint rules is
suitable for the direct hybrid constructions without any DC-DC con­
verters. In contrast, the indirect hybrid constructions have many regu­
lators such as a unidirectional DC-DC converter, bidirectional DC-DC
converter, and MPPT DC-DC converter, and active control can be
implemented with these regulators to achieve the energy management
optimization. The design of EMSs should comply with the operating
characteristics of the power sources. In addition, to improve the oper­
ating efficiency of the overall system, the energy management should
also ensure the system stability and should extend the service life of the
power sources as long as possible. This involves the real-time control
and the multi-objective optimization. Thus, the multi-objective
comprehensive optimization based on real-time online intelligent con­
trol might be the future research directions for the energy management
of FC hybrid propulsion systems in UAVs.
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Progress in Aerospace Sciences 116 (2020) 100620
9. Similarities and differences with other vehicle applications
9.1. Electric vehicle applications
For EV applications, FC hybrid propulsion systems are also called FC
hybrid power systems since the electric power is ultimately used to drive
the wheels of vehicles rather than the propellers of UAVs [143–145].
The purposes of the development of FC hybrid power systems for EVs
and UAVs are basically the same, i.e., reducing the charging time,
improving the energy density of the energy storage system, increasing
the driving/flight range and so on [60,146]. Due to the operating en­
vironments of EVs are better than the flight environment of UAVs, the
technological threshold for applying the FC hybrid systems in EVs is
lower than that in UAVs.
Similarly, only using a pure FC system as the power source would
severely limit the power performance of EVs. So batteries and super­
capacitors should be used as power buffer devices for FC hybrid power
systems [127,147,148]. As demonstrated in previous studies [92,147,
149], automotive engineers tend to use the low operating temperature
PEMFCs in EV applications, because the PEMFC/Battery and PEMFC/­
Supercapacitor hybrid power systems are much easy to implement and
very safe as power sources for EVs [146,147]. Apart from pure EVs, FC
systems can also be used in HEVs. As discussed in Section 6, many
constructions of FC-ICE hybrid propulsion systems in UAVs can be used
as references for the construction designs of similar FC-based hybrid
engine-electric power systems in EVs [150]. Moreover, EVs have more
multi-gear speed regulation requirements than UAVs. Thus, the torque
coupler and planetary gear constructions have been widely used in
FC-based EV or HEV applications [131].
As expected, an EV should carry a driver and some passengers. So
higher safety coefficient should be achieved for the power systems in EV
applications compared with that in UAV applications. Thus, high tem­
perature SOFC systems are not suitable for EV applications [31,112]. On
the other hand, DMFC systems may lead to catalyst-poisoning for the
driver and passengers [26,74]. So the PEMFC systems are the best choice
for EV applications under current technical conditions. Noticed that,
compared with UAVs, the mass and the internal space requirements for
EVs are not so stringent. Meanwhile, without the limitations such as less
oxygen, lower temperature, time-variable temperature and humidity
[26,56], it is easier to apply the PEMFC/Battery hybrid power tech­
nologies to EVs.
In addition to the above differences as discussed, if the FC is inte­
grated with the solar cell as the power sources in EVs, the role of the
solar cell is significantly different [151]. In a UAV, solar cells can be used
as a major power source to provide electric power, since the power
demand from the propulsion motor is very small. Although the solar
power can be used in EV applications, the power demand from the
vehicle motor is very high, such that the contribution of the solar power
is very small. Thus, the solar cell can only be used as the auxiliary power
source in EV applications.
9.2. Underwater vehicle applications
Underwater vehicles are advanced underwater equipments for ocean
explorations and maritime applications [61,83]. For these unmanned
underwater vehicles (UUVs) with long time reconnaissance re­
quirements, electricity power systems are very popular, since they
possess the characteristics of low acoustic and thermal features.
FC/Battery hybrid power systems can also be used for underwater ve­
hicles to achieve long cruising range. Compared with the ground and
aeronautical environments, the application environment underwater or
in the deep ocean is much colder and more strict [152]. Technologically,
the FC application in underwater vehicles is more difficult than that in
EVs or UAVs, since the underwater temperature is very low and no ox­
ygen is available in the deep ocean environment [61,153].
There are many similarities for the FC application between
B. Wang et al.
underwater vehicles and UAVs. For instance, the internal space of the
underwater vehicles is also limited. According to the solution scheme of
reducing the fuel storage systems for UAVs, the underwater vehicles can
also use the solid chemical hydrides such as NaBH4 or ammonia borane
complex as the energy carrier [77,86]. Meanwhile, under low temper­
ature operating conditions, using battery/supercapacitor as the auxil­
iary energy source for the cold start and the power compensation of the
FC is very important [154]. On the other hand, because UUVs have no
passengers, both the SOFC and the DMFC can be used. Besides, for un­
derwater vehicles and high altitude UAVs, the issue of lack of oxygen can
be solved by carrying oxidizing chemicals [152].
Unlike EVs, underwater vehicles have no regenerative braking en­
ergy to recover from motor inverters [142,155]. If the underwater ve­
hicles or UAVs need to reduce their speed, the power system should
provide positive power to produce reverse propulsion power. On the
other hand, some UUVs need to lurk in deep water for special missions
[156,157]. In this case, little energy would be consumed by its propul­
sion system. The biggest difference in the FC application in underwater
environment is that the FC system is installed in a hermetically-sealed
vessel. Therefore, an exclusive discharge channel should be designed
for the FC exhaust.
10. Conclusions and future trends
UAVs have been widely applied in practice as one of the best
applicable candidates to conduct remote sensing and surveillance mis­
sions. For these UAVs powered by FC propulsion systems, the maneu­
verability and the power performance may be considerably affected,
since the FC has drawbacks such as the long start-up time, delayed
response and weak power performance. To overcome these shortcom­
ings of the FC, a practical approach is to hybrid FC with other power
sources. This is feasible and achievable, with the current technology
development and advancements.
In this work, we review the current technologies of FC hybrid pro­
pulsion systems for UAV applications. Three typical FCs used in UAVs
are described and compared. These include 1) PEMFC, 2) SOFC, and 3)
DMFC. It is found that that the PEMFC would be the best propulsion
candidate for small commercial UAVs. Nevertheless, the low power
performance, slow-response and low efficiency with the low/high power
output mode of the FC would limit the overall performance of FC pro­
pulsion systems in UAVs. Therefore, the available hybrid propulsion
systems with FCs and other electric power sources are reviewed. It is
shown that the battery is an essential energy storage device to achieve
the stable output for hybrid propulsion systems, while the super­
capacitor could be used as an uninterruptable power supply to deal with
the emergency power supply requirements. If the FC is integrated and
combined with solar cell, the flight endurance of the UAVs can be
significantly enhanced. Furthermore, the feasible hybrid constructions
of the FC hybrid propulsion systems are discussed. To effectively exploit
the advantages of each power source and achieve the lightweight design
for UAVs, the semi-active hybrid construction using the battery to
directly connect the DC-bus is preferred for the FC hybrid propulsion
systems. In addition, the FC-ICE hybrid propulsion systems are
concluded. These hybrid engine-electric propulsion systems include in­
ternal integration and external power integration schemes. The internal
integration technology is immature but seems to be promising. For the
external power integration, the series construction is preferred for small
UAVs, while the parallel and power-split constructions are suitable for
large UAVs/aircrafts with the multi-speed control requirements.
We also conduct an insightful analysis on the impacts of various
flight factors on the overall performance of the FC hybrid propulsion
system. The impacts of the flight factors are divided into three types,
which would provide favorable technical guidance for the full-scale
design of the corresponding FC hybrid propulsion systems. Then the
energy management strategies of the FC hybrid propulsion systems are
studied and discussed. It is found that the real-time online intelligent
19
Progress in Aerospace Sciences 116 (2020) 100620
control, the multi-target and comprehensive optimal strategies will be
the future research directions for the energy management of FC hybrid
propulsion systems in UAVs. Additionally, the similarities and differ­
ences of FC hybrid propulsion systems respectively applied to EVs, UAVs
and underwater vehicles are presented.
Considering the technical challenges involved in the design and
development of FC hybrid propulsion systems, the future research di­
rections include but are not limited to the following:
1) to improve the FC performance with new-property membrane and
catalysis technologies;
2) to propose innovative hybrid schemes of the FC hybrid propulsion
systems based on available power sources;
3) to propose a lightweight design for the FC hybrid propulsion system
based on new constructions or new DC-DC conversion technologies;
4) to develop advanced energy storage techniques, which could meet
the requirements of various extreme weather conditions (or under­
water conditions);
5) to develop a durable and reliable FC hybrid propulsion system,
which could be suitable for all-climate EVs and UAVs;
6) to design online intelligent energy management and optimization
methods for these FC hybrid propulsion systems under uncertain
operating conditions or flight factors.
Acknowledgments
This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science
Foundation of China under grant number 51907160, the Nature Science
Basic Research Program in Shaanxi Province of China under grant
number 2018JQ5126, the Postdoctoral Science Foundation of China
under grant number 2018M631143, and the University of Canterbury
under grant number 452STUPDZ. Bin Wang would like to thank the
University of Canterbury for hosting his visiting Postdoc fellowship in
the group of the corresponding author Dan Zhao.
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