China’s Hydrogen-Powered UAV Achieves 30-Hour Flight, Leading the Future of Green Aviation.
A China-developed 50kg-class hydrogen-powered UAV has completed a 30-hour continuous cross-day-and-night flight, setting a new national endurance record and placing China among global leaders in hydrogen aviation technology. This milestone proves the reliability of hydrogen fuel cell systems and marks a significant leap forward in green aviation innovation.
At the heart of this success is the breakthrough in integrated flight-power-control system design, tailored to the dynamic power characteristics of hydrogen fuel cells. Through an optimized algorithm combining energy management and flight control, the drone achieves efficient power usage and stable performance—solving long-standing challenges in hydrogen UAV endurance.
For take-off, the project team introduced a unique “Unmanned Vehicle + UAV” collaborative mode. Utilizing autonomous vehicle-based deployment, the drone operated seamlessly under non-standard runway conditions. This innovation enables rapid response in complex terrain, expanding application scenarios from emergency rescue to border patrol.
During the mission, the drone carried an electro-optical payload and transmitted real-time imagery and telemetry via a 5G onboard module to remote command centers over public networks. This real-time situational awareness enables efficient decision-making and showcases the drone’s value across low-altitude economic sectors—such as urban monitoring, agriculture, and logistics.
As China prioritizes the low-altitude economy in its national development plan—with market size expected to exceed one trillion RMB by 2030—hydrogen-powered drones are emerging as critical infrastructure. This record-setting flight, backed by the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Civil Aviation Administration, signals the transition from lab-scale validation to industrial deployment.
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