The Netherlands Aerospace Centre (NLR) recently received the first liquid hydrogen tank delivered by Cryoworld. With this tank (also called 'dewar') NLR comes a step closer to realizing one of its strategic ambitions: performing the first manned flight on liquid hydrogen in 2025.
The liquid hydrogen tank will be used for the HYDRA-2L drone. The 'L' in HYDRA-2L indicates that it is the liquid hydrogen variant of the HYDRA-2 drone. Previous HYDRA models were flown on hydrogen in gaseous form. In order to fly a drone on liquid hydrogen - and thus significantly extend the duration of a flight - major adjustments to the construction were necessary.
This not only involved the propulsion but also the hydrogen tank. This must be able to withstand extreme pressure and temperature. In collaboration with the North Holland specialist Cryowold, a tank was developed from composite material with a capacity of 125 litres. NLR wants to perform flight tests with the liquid hydrogen tank on board this year. After that, it wants to scale up quickly to make the first manned flight in 2025.
