Hydrogenhelikopter planlegges - AIN

 

Unither Bioelectronics Plans Hydrogen-powered Helicopters

Hydrogen fuel cells could power organ delivery flights

 

Mikaël Cardinal, vice president of program management and organ delivery systems at United Therapeutics, and David Smith, president and CEO of Robinson Helicopter Company, shake hands in front of a Robinson R66.

 

By Hanneke Weitering • Science & Technology Editor

August 19, 2024

Unither Bioelectronics is teaming up with Robinson Helicopter to develop hydrogen-powered variants of the company’s R44 and R66 helicopters. Robinson has agreed to collaborate with Unither on supplemental type certificates for the modified helicopters in the U.S. and Canada, contributing its technical and regulatory expertise to the project.

As a subsidiary of United Therapeutics—a biotechnology company and public benefit corporation that specializes in organ transplants—Unither Bioelectronics aims to usher in the next generation of airborne organ delivery systems with zero-emissions and autonomous flight technologies.

United Therapeutics has also been developing all-electric, battery-powered Robinson helicopters since 2016. The company has been working with Tier 1 Engineering to convert the R44 with electric propulsion units provided by MagniX, and the partners have flight-tested three generations of electric R44 prototypes. Lung Biotechnology, another United Therapeutics subsidiary, plans to use the electric R44s to transport organs between airports and hospitals.

By adding hydrogen fuel cells into the mix, United Therapeutics hopes to enable longer-range flights than what it can offer with the purely battery-electric version. The Tier 1-modified R44 holds the record for the longest flight of a battery-powered helicopter at 30 nm, and United Therapeutics has said the aircraft would have a range of 40 nm without reserves. Hydrogen fuel cells could potentially quadruple the range of the all-electric R44. This would enable deliveries of artificially manufactured organs from United Therapeutics’ facilities to transplant centers across North America.

“This collaboration accelerates the development of sustainable transportation solutions for life-saving organs,” said Mikaël Cardinal, vice president of program management and organ delivery systems at United Therapeutics. “Hydrogen-powered aircraft are the next frontier in sustainable aviation. We are committed to developing a zero-operational carbon emission fleet of aircraft, and we look forward to working with the expert team at Robinson Helicopter to enable regulatory approval and production of these aircraft.”

United Therapeutics is also eyeing clean-sheet designs to further upgrade its fleet with more eco-friendly aircraft. The company has backed Vermont-based aircraft developer Beta Technologies in its efforts to bring eVTOL and conventional-style electric airplane designs to market and has agreed to purchase an unspecified number of both models. It has also invested in EHang, which last year became the first company to certify an autonomous eVTOL air taxi in China.

Meanwhile, other advanced air mobility innovators are looking to introduce autonomous versions of Robinson helicopters that could someday enable pilotless flights. Rotor Technologies has been working with Robinson to develop autonomous versions of the four-seat R44 and two-seat R22 helicopters, called the R550X and R220Y, respectively. Skyryse is also developing advanced automation features for the five-seat R66 model.

Research and development efforts around hydrogen-powered aircraft thus far have been mostly limited to regional jets and airliners, with some eVTOL manufacturers such as Joby exploring hydrogen fuel cell options for future iterations of their air taxi designs. Piasecki Aircraft Corp. appears to be the frontrunner in the hydrogen helicopter race with its government-backed plans to introduce a hydrogen-powered PA-890 helicopter by the end of the decade.