{"id":7958,"date":"2025-03-06T10:06:16","date_gmt":"2025-03-06T09:06:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zal.aero\/?post_type=news&p=7958"},"modified":"2026-04-23T09:27:58","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T08:27:58","slug":"hydro-bunny-kick-off","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/zal.aero\/en\/news\/hydro-bunny-kick-off\/","title":{"rendered":"HYDRO-BUNNY \u2013 Pit Stop for Drones"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]Hydrogen drones offer enormous potential: they can stay in the air for hours and reach remote areas to perform critical tasks\u2014whether it’s inspecting power lines, monitoring wildfire-prone regions, or transporting urgently needed medical supplies. But what happens when these drones need to refuel after a successful mission? Even in urban centers like Hamburg, hydrogen is only available in a few locations. In remote areas, where hydrogen drones could be most beneficial, there is often no infrastructure at all. This is exactly where the HYDRO-BUNNY project comes in.<\/p>\n

Autonomous and Mobile \u2013 Hydrogen on Demand<\/strong><\/p>\n

One solution to this challenge is the development of a mobile, self-sufficient hydrogen refueling station. As part of the HYDRO-BUNNY project (Hydrogen Drone Refueling Operations \u2013 Base Utilization Navigation Network Yard), the hydrogen experts at ZAL GmbH are working on such a station. The core of this refueling unit is an electrolyzer that produces hydrogen on-site and stores it in a tank. But the concept goes even further: the station will not only supply hydrogen but will also be fully self-sufficient, powered by renewable energy\u2014a sustainable solution for operating drones in remote areas.[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”7963″ img_size=”large” css=”” el_class=”zal-image-large”][vc_column_text css=””]Goal: Automated Drone Operations<\/strong><\/p>\n

The project’s vision goes even further. An automated landing and refueling system will be developed, allowing drones to operate completely autonomously. In wildfire-prone regions, for example, drones could take off independently to monitor large areas\u2014without any human intervention. In the future, operations could look like this:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. The drone lands on an automated landing system.<\/li>\n
  2. It is moved into a hangar and taken to the hydrogen refueling station.<\/li>\n
  3. A refueling robot connects the drone to the hydrogen tank.<\/li>\n
  4. Once refueling is complete, the drone takes off for its next mission.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    The project kicked off in January 2025. In addition to ZAL GmbH, the partners include IFPT, Mb+Partner, and Teccon. Thanks to previous collaborations among the partners, Hydrobunny benefits from experience and findings from the H2-Finity and LiquiDrone initiatives. Together, the goal is to develop a solution that is both technically and economically viable\u2014bringing hydrogen drones exactly where they are needed most in the future.[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]Are you interested in hydrogen drones or have questions about the HYDRO-BUNNY project? Share your thoughts with us and give us a call:<\/em>[\/vc_column_text][vc_basic_grid post_type=”person” max_items=”1″ element_width=”12″ gap=”0″ item=”1993″ css=”” grid_id=”vc_gid:1762438281961-cb915c71-c1a8-10″ taxonomies=”280″ el_class=”mitarbeiter-staff-personen”][vc_column_text css=””]Partners:
    \n<\/strong>Teccon
    \nmb+Partner
    \nZAL GmbH
    \nIFPT Institute for Aircraft Production Technology<\/p>\n

    HYDRO-BUNNY\u00a0is funded by the Europ\u00e4ischen Fonds f\u00fcr regionale Entwicklung (EFRE). #EFREhamburg<\/strong>[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”8463″ img_size=”300×300″ alignment=”center” css=””][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Hydrogen drones offer enormous potential: they can fly for hours and reach remote areas for inspections, wildfire monitoring, or medical transport. But where do they refuel after a mission? In remote regions, hydrogen is often completely unavailable. This is exactly where HYDRO-BUNNY comes in.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"template":"","class_list":["post-7958","news","type-news","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/zal.aero\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/7958","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/zal.aero\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/zal.aero\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/zal.aero\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/7958\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9020,"href":"https:\/\/zal.aero\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/7958\/revisions\/9020"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/zal.aero\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7958"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}