Seoul National University – Kist joint research team developed a highly flexible, ultra-light fuel cell.
-No significant performance loss under an S-shape or severe bending fatigue more than 200 repetition.
-Able to enlarge operation time of the drone up to one hour.


▲ (From the left) Prof. Mansoo Choi , Prof. Sukwon Cha of Seoul National University, Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering

Seoul National University, College of Engineering (Dean Kunwoo Lee) announced that a joint research team consisted of Prof. Mansoo Choi, Prof. Sukwon Cha of Seoul National University, Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering and KSIT (Korea Institute of Science and Technology) developed a highly flexible, ultra-light fuel cell. The fuel cell uses hydrogen to produce electric power, and able to enlarge the operation time of the drone up to one hour. 
 
In recent years, researchers are trying to make light and flexible fuel cells which can be used to the wearable devices. As a part of those research, the research team developed a light and flexible high power fuel cell.
 
To achieve high performance, the research team chose plastic film for a fuel cell material. The fuel cell, with a thickness of 0.992mm and a weight of 2.23g, demonstrated a 0.228W per weight. This is the highest performance among the flexible cells reported so far. Furthermore, the research team confirmed that it is possible to charge smartphones and operate a small motor by connecting the fuel cells in series.
 
Prof. Mansoo Choi said, “It is expected to enlarge the average operation time of the drone from 20 minutes to an hour.”
 
This research was supported by the Global Frontier R&D Program of Ministry of Science and ICT(MSIP), Korea and an NRF grant funded by MSIP. The research result was published in the international journal ‘NPG Asia Materials’ on May 26.