Hydrogen Refueling Plan for Skellefteå Droneport

From Idea to Concrete Plan

Frans Ignberg (Mechanical Engineering), Oskar Albinsson (Vehicle Engineering), and Sebastian Lindberg (Vehicle Engineering) from KTH Royal Institute of Technology focused their summer on a project that could pave the way for a greener drone industry.

– We were recommended the project and thought it seemed very interesting. It gave us an opportunity to both contribute to Skellefteå’s business community and gain experience of how development processes work in practice, says Oskar Albinsson.

A Guide for the Future

The result is a comprehensive report outlining how Arctic Aviation Hub can establish a hydrogen refueling station. The report highlights aspects such as infrastructure, safety, supplier networks, and skills supply.

– The final report describes several aspects that must be considered before hydrogen-powered drones can be operated. It covers everything from safety and legislation to suppliers and various technical solutions, explains Frans Ignberg.

Lessons and Challenges

Working with a technology that is still in its infancy brought both challenges and new insights. The lack of clear guidelines for hydrogen drones forced the group to think creatively.

– The biggest challenge was finding answers to questions that had not yet been asked. We therefore chose to adapt our plan to the uncertainties and instead optimize so that the Droneport will be ready to jump on board once the technology matures, says Sebastian Lindberg.

A Resource for Arctic Aviation Hub

Arctic Aviation Hub will now use the report as a basis for its continued planning and to begin the physical implementation of a refueling station. The hope is that Skellefteå Droneport will be able to offer a test environment for companies developing hydrogen-powered drones.

– The work has been incredibly valuable. The design of the report, with clear and educational recommendations on how implementation can take place step by step, increases the opportunities for us to soon start planning to provide smaller amounts of hydrogen for testing and development purposes, says Henrik Littorin at Arctic Aviation Hub.