Discovery Team · TU/e innovation Space · Est. 2026

Our goal

7–8 hours in the air.
Under 25 kg.
On hydrogen.

Argo is a team of ten TU/e students designing a hydrogen fuel-cell drone under 25 kg, starting with the power system it needs to stay up that long.

Partner with us Follow our progress →
Now · Phase 02 of 05 · Testbed drone
Concept top view of the Argo drone: a central hydrogen tank, fuel cell and buffer battery, with four rotors. FIG. 01 FWD H₂ TANK Type IV · 300 bar PEM FUEL CELL steady base power BUFFER BATTERY absorbs peak loads ARGO CONCEPT A · TOP VIEW MTOM < 25 KG NOT TO SCALE

Design targets

Target flight time
7–8hours
Max take-off mass
<25kg
Planned hydrogen storage
300bar

Team

Students
10

01 / Why hydrogen

Battery drones land within 20 to 40 minutes. We want to stay up for 7 to 8 hours.

With batteries, every extra minute in the air adds heavy cells; with hydrogen, the same extra energy weighs several times less.

Energy per kilogram

3–6×

more usable energy per kg than a lithium battery, counting the tank but not yet the fuel cell

Hydrogen, after tank and fuel cell~800–1,650 Wh/kg
Lithium battery~250 Wh/kg

How we got there

  1. Pure hydrogen: ~33,000 Wh/kg (chemical energy)
  2. In a Type IV tank, hydrogen is 5–10% of the weight → ~1,650–3,300 Wh/kg
  3. A fuel cell turns about half into electricity → ~800–1,650 Wh/kg

The fuel cell, cooling and buffer battery add fixed weight on top, so hydrogen only pays off on longer flights.

The endurance trade-off

Sketch: battery system mass grows steeply with flight time, hydrogen system mass starts higher but grows slowly, so hydrogen becomes lighter for longer flights. LiPo battery Hydrogen ARGO TARGET: 7–8 HOURS HYDROGEN LIGHTER shorter flights longer flights → energy system mass →

Batteries are lighter for short flights; hydrogen's fixed weight only pays off on longer ones. We're calculating where that crossover sits for our design, so this sketch shows the shape, not our numbers.

Where hydrogen drones are heading

Inspection

Infrastructure

Longer inspection runs over pipelines, power lines and wind farms, with fewer landings to swap batteries.

Emergency

Search & rescue

More time over a search area, or as a temporary network relay.

Logistics

Middle-mile delivery

Carrying payloads between regional hubs without stopping to recharge.

Agriculture

Large-scale farming

Long imaging runs over large fields, refuelled in minutes rather than recharged for hours.

02 / Our approach

The power system comes first.

Buying a fuel cell is the easy part; we're designing the electronics and control logic that let it handle real flight loads.

The Argo drone emblem: a bird seen from above with wings spread, in white and teal
Drone emblem

Planned architecture

Planned active parallel hybrid drivetrain: hydrogen flows from the tank to the fuel cell, a DC/DC converter feeds a DC bus, a buffer battery charges and discharges on the same bus, and the bus powers the motors. WHAT WE'RE DESIGNING DC BUS control H₂ TANK 300 bar storage PEM FUEL CELL steady power DC/DC CONVERTER the brain: limits current BUFFER BATTERY absorbs the spikes MOTORS + ESCs volatile demand Hydrogen Steady DC power Peak power, in and out Control signals Planned active parallel hybrid drivetrain, top to bottom: hydrogen tank, fuel cell, DC/DC converter, DC bus with a buffer battery attached, and the motors. WHAT WE'RE DESIGNING DC BUS H₂ TANK 300 bar storage PEM FUEL CELL steady power DC/DC CONVERTER the brain: limits current BUFFER BATTERY absorbs the spikes MOTORS + ESCs volatile demand Hydrogen Steady DC power Peak power, in and out Control signals

01

A steady fuel cell

Fuel cells wear out faster under sudden load changes, so our control strategy will keep ours near one efficient operating point.

02

A battery for the peaks

Take-off, gusts and manoeuvres cause sharp power peaks; a buffer battery will cover them and recharge when demand drops.

03

Electronics in charge

We're designing an active DC/DC converter that sets how much current the fuel cell delivers and reports to the flight controller.

04

Built as a module

We're designing the drivetrain as a self-contained unit, so the same power system could later fit a different airframe.

03 / Roadmap

Where we are.

Five phases from paper to a 7–8 hour hydrogen flight, updated as we go.

  1. Phase 01

    Research

    Fuel cells, hydrogen storage, safety and drivetrain architecture.

    Done

  2. Phase 02

    Testbed

    A battery-powered testbed drone to learn flight control, telemetry and tuning.

    In progress

  3. Phase 03

    Bench test

    Fuel cell and buffer battery on the bench. Hybrid control logic in MATLAB first, then in hardware.

    Next

  4. Phase 04

    Integration

    Drivetrain module in the airframe: thermal routing, packaging and safety systems.

    Planned

  5. Phase 05

    Full endurance

    7 to 8 hours in the air on hydrogen, under 25 kg.

    Goal

04 / Partners

Be our first partner.

Partners who join this early shape the project from the first bolt.

Supported by

TU/e innovation Space

What we need

  • PEM fuel cell or bare stack
  • Type IV high-pressure hydrogen cylinders
  • Hydrogen supply and a safe place to test
  • Funding for parts, tooling and certification
  • Mentoring from people who've done this before

What you get

  • Your logo on our drone, website and events
  • Direct access to motivated TU/e engineering students
  • Test data and reports from our hydrogen drivetrain
  • Content and visibility from every milestone
  • A seat at the table for our first hydrogen flight

Want to be first?

Tell us how you'd like to help, and we'll put together a proposal that fits.

Become a partner →

05 / Join Argo

Build a hydrogen drone with us.

Any TU/e student is welcome, with or without hydrogen or drone experience.

  • 01

    Hydrogen & fuel cell

    Tanks, pressure regulation, fuel-cell integration and safety.

  • 02

    Power electronics & control

    DC/DC converter, battery management and hybrid control logic in MATLAB.

  • 03

    Structure & thermal

    CAD in Siemens NX, 3D-printed mounts, packaging and cooling.

  • 04

    Flight systems & software

    Flight controller, telemetry and testbed flights.

  • 05

    Business & partnerships

    Sponsors, events, social media and the story behind Argo.

Application form opens soon.

06 / Contact

Get in touch.

Sponsors, suppliers, mentors and future teammates: we'd love to hear from you.

Email Team email Coming soon LinkedIn Argo on LinkedIn Coming soon Instagram Argo on Instagram Coming soon