H3 Dynamics

Singapore-based H3 Dynamics provides hydrogen solutions for airports and aircraft to support the decarbonization of aviation. In 2015, the company acquired HES Energy, a spin-off of Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies, a global PEM fuel cell manufacturer, and one of the first to develop ultra-lightweight hydrogen fuel cells for experimental unmanned aircraft.

For airports, the company provides modular and scalable PEM electrolyzer systems and ground support equipment powered by hydrogen electric technology. For aircraft, the company offers hydrogen fuel cell electric powertrain solutions and is building a hydrogen electric auxiliary power unit (APU). For unmanned aerial systems (UAS), H3 Dynamics offers AEROPAK, a high power density fuel cell system available in various configurations ranging from 250 watts (W) to 2,000 W and weighing between 720 g and 3.5+ kg. It also offers H2FIELD, an on-site hydrogen station for hydrogen-powered UAS launched in January 2023.

In December 2021, the company began unmanned test flights using its proprietary hydrogen-electric propulsion systems, and in November 2022, it completed the world’s first flight using its proprietary distributed hydrogen-electric nacelle technology.

Key customers and partnerships

In June 2023, H3 Dynamics partnered with Australia-based Kite Magnetics to develop an advanced hydrogen-electric propulsion system for aviation. In January 2023, the company partnered with Raven SR to collaborate on waste-to-hydrogen energy systems at airports with the goal of reducing airports’ reliance on the electrical grid and eventually becoming grid-independent.

In the hydrogen aviation space, in March 2022, the company partnered with Universal Hydrogen, which will provide green hydrogen fuel logistics, while H3 Dynamics will provide fuel cell powertrain solutions for unmanned and manned aircraft. Previously, in 2019, the company partnered with ISAE-SUPAERO (an aerospace engineering school) to achieve the first Atlantic crossing with an unmanned aircraft powered by hydrogen. Continuing this momentum, in December 2022, H3 Dynamics began working with Australian UAV manufacturer Carbonix to develop Australia’s first hydrogen-electric drone. In the same month, the company added hydrogen-electric population to unmanned airships built by HyLight. In January 2023, a collaboration with Hylium Industries (a provider of liquid hydrogen storage and liquification solutions) aims to achieve a 3x improvement in flight duration over pressurized hydrogen systems and a 10x improvement in performance over batteries. In June 2023, H3 Dynamics partnered with EOS Technologie (a manufacturer of electric fixed-wing UAS) to introduce two new hydrogen-electric cargo UAS platforms.

Funding and financials

In October 2021, H3 Dynamics raised USD 26 million in Series B funding, which it planned to use to further develop its hydrogen electric UAS.