ISAE-SUPAERO and H3 Dynamics Develop a Zero-emission Pilotless Aircraft to Cross the Atlantic Ocean
23.11.2020 14:00:00 EET | Business Wire | Press release
ISAE-SUPAERO:
Extracting energy for ultra-long range flights
Since the pioneering work of Lord Rayleigh in 1883, it has been observed that some birds such as Albatrosses can achieve outstanding flight durations and ranges by using wind gradients over flat surfaces. More recently, two Ph.D. programs conducted at ISAE-SUPAERO have provided new insights into the physical mechanism which consists of extracting energy from wind gradients with the objective of transferring the strategy onto fixed-wing drones. A potential range gain of 40% for a given drone has been identified and this can be achieved by applying the flight strategies inspired from Albatrosses and other natural flyers.
The ambition of the ‘Drone Mermoz’ project is to combine different sources of energy in order to achieve a long-range flight with a 100% electrically powered drone. The challenge will consist of following the historical route taken by Jean Mermoz in 1930 between Dakar (Senegal) and Natal (Brazil). The total distance is about 3000 kilometers which proves impossible with a conventional battery-based electric drone.
The key technology to achieving such a long-range flight is based on fuel cells supplied by H3 Dynamics. Because fuel cells produce electricity from Hydrogen and only reject water into the atmosphere, Drone Mermoz will be a collaborative effort between H3 Dynamics and ISAE-SUPAERO to design, manufacture and fly the first 100% green drone to achieve such long distances. Using the best aircraft design strategies available, ISAE-SUPAERO will endeavour to design an optimized drone with a total mass of less than 25 kg to make an attempt at the record in 2021.
ISAE-SUPAERO’s commitment towards sustainable development
The ‘Drone Mermoz’ initiative is in line with ISAE-SUPAERO’s investment in innovative aeronautical and space technologies in a sustainable development perspective.
ISAE-SUPAERO is well aware of the environmental issues such as climate change and energy transition. It has embarked on a mission to raise awareness and the direction of research at ISAE-SUPAERO puts in place environment-conscious research programs thanks to technological innovations and eco-design of cleaner aircrafts.
To view this piece of content from cts.businesswire.com, please give your consent at the top of this page.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201123005792/en/
Contact information
Leïla Colaud
leila.c@oxygen-rp.com
About Business Wire
For more than 50 years, Business Wire has been the global leader in press release distribution and regulatory disclosure.
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
Study: Heatwaves Increase Cough Urge, Which Salt Aerosols Reduce15.9.2026 16:15:00 EEST | Press release
SC Therapeutics, with University North Carolina, Imperial College London, and Boston University, announced publication on Tuesday in Nature Scientific Reports of results from a multi-institutional study indicating that the aridity inherent in heatwaves increases cough hypersensitivity in human airways by collapsing mucus onto cilia in a manner common to chronic respiratory diseases, such as cystic fibrosis, and asthma. The researchers find that alkaline aerosols of magnesium salts reverse mucosal collapse for several hours, and reduce cough hypersensitivity as reflected in placebo-adjusted suppression of daily cough bout rate (59%, p=0.03) and persistence of suppression post treatment for 1 to 3 weeks in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of 10 refractory chronic cough patients. “Paris recorded 5,764 excess deaths between 17 June and 2 July, a period of time during which we report atmospheric aridity in the city increased approximately 3-fold relative to the 35 year a
ADM’s Fourth Annual Regenerative Agriculture Report Highlights Growing Resilience Across the Food System15.9.2026 16:00:00 EEST | Press release
ADM (NYSE: ADM), a global leader in innovative solutions from nature, today released its fourth annual regenerative agriculture report, showing how its programs are supporting farmers, strengthening agricultural supply chains and delivering measurable environmental outcomes around the world. “Resilience starts on the farm. By improving and protecting soil health, farmers can be better equipped to adapt to changing conditions and maintain productive operations,” said Greg Morris, SVP and President, Ag Services and Oilseeds, ADM. “That resilience can extend across the value chain, helping strengthen the food system we all depend on.” In 2025, ADM’s regenerative agriculture programs engaged more than 56,000 farmers across approximately 4.6 million acres, 11 countries and 10 crops. Compared with regional benchmarks, the programs resulted in approximately 946,000 metric tons of CO₂e reductions. “ADM views agriculture as a powerful way to meet evolving customer needs, and our work in regener
Diligent Unveils New Agentic Capabilities in Diligent One to Power the Future of Governance, Risk and Compliance15.9.2026 16:00:00 EEST | Press release
Diligent, the AI leader in governance, risk and compliance (GRC) solutions, today announced a major enhancement to Diligent One, its native AI platform, at Gartner’s Enterprise Risk, Audit and Compliance Conference (ERAC). This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260915941016/en/ “For many organizations, GRC work is slowed by fragmented systems, manual coordination and time-consuming reporting processes,” said Brian Stafford, President and CEO of Diligent. “Our latest agentic capabilities help teams cut through that complexity by connecting context, surfacing what matters and driving faster execution — while keeping governance and professional judgement at the center." An orchestration agent that coordinates work and approvals The orchestration agent in Diligent One gives GRC professionals a natural-language interface to coordinate audit and risk work. Instead of simply answering questions, it enables users to describe
Unifocus Launches AI-Powered Platform to Transform Workforce and Operations Management in Hospitality15.9.2026 16:00:00 EEST | Press release
The global hospitality technology provider, Unifocus, has announced the launch of its newest AI platform, Unifocus Claira. Unifocus Claira is an industry first end-to-end workforce management and operations platform, purpose-built to give hoteliers and above-property hospitality organizations complete visibility across the workforce lifecycle through one cohesive system. By replacing the patchwork of disconnected tools, multiple technology stacks and siloed data systems that have traditionally been used to manage labor and operations processes, Unifocus Claira delivers one connected AI-native platform, providing customers with a comprehensive and organized view of their workforce and operations data. This unified data foundation powers advanced AI capabilities designed to accelerate decision-making, improve operational performance and drive business growth. Importantly, Unifocus Claira is also the first end-to-end platform of its calibre, purpose-built specifically for the select servi
Rochester Electronics Heads to electronica Munich 2026, Sponsors Women in Tech Forum15.9.2026 16:00:00 EEST | Press release
Rochester Electronics, LLC, a premier continuous source of authorized semiconductors and licensed semiconductor manufacturing, will exhibit at electronica 2026 in Munich, Germany — the world's leading trade fair and conference for electronics — from Hall C4, Booth 161. WE United, a nonprofit leadership organization serving the global technology and electronics industry, will co-exhibit at Rochester's booth as part of Rochester's ongoing sponsorship of the organization. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260915116544/en/ Rochester Electronics Heads to electronica Munich 2026, Sponsors Women in Tech Forum Rochester will also sponsor the Women in Tech Forum, hosted by Electronic Specifier at electronica Munich 2026. The forum takes place on 11 November at 9:00 a.m. on the Future Tech Stage and will bring together industry leaders to explore diversity, leadership, innovation, and the future of engineering and technol
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom