Chinese companies successfully test 621-mile-range liquid hydrogen VTOL drone

A group of Chinese companies just completed the first test flight of a 2646 lbs (~1118 kg) VTOL drone powered by liquid hydrogen. They ran the test on January 9 in Baoji City’s Fengxiang High-tech Industrial Development Zone, and it’s a major leap forward in greener aviation technology.

They call this aircraft the DF600 “Jinghong.” It was put together by Shaanxi Tongchen Heguang Cryogenic Technology, Dream Chaser Aerospace Technology, and Beijing Jiaqing New Energy Technology. The drone’s stats are pretty impressive—it weighs around 2646 lbs at takeoff and can lug a payload of 265 to 353 lbs.

Thanks to its liquid hydrogen propulsion system, the drone promises significantly better performance than those running on regular aviation fuel or batteries. It’s expected to fly over 621 miles on a single trip, making it a promising option for long-range commercial uses.

Each partner played a specific role. Dream Chaser Aerospace, started by a team from Tsinghua University, developed the hybrid tilt-rotor platform for the UAV. Tongchen Cryogenics, founded in July 2023 with Xi’an Jiaotong University, handled liquid hydrogen storage and supply. Beijing Jiaqing, working alongside Tsinghua, provided the high-power air-cooled fuel cell system.

After the success of this test flight, officials in Shaanxi plan to broaden liquid hydrogen’s reach across different transportation sectors and build up a full-scale industry for hydrogen production, refueling, storage, transport, and real-world applications.