ISAE-SUPAERO
23.11.2020 12:02:07 CET | 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.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201123005792/en/
Link:
About Business Wire
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
The Estée Lauder Companies Announces Partnership with Profound to Expand AI Visibility Across Its Global Brand Portfolio14.9.2026 18:32:00 CEST | Press release
Partnership enables the company to lead prestige beauty's transition to AI-powered discovery while better understanding how consumers discover, evaluate, and engage with its brands across AI answer engines The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE: EL) today announced a global strategic partnership with Profound, the category-defining AI marketing platform, advancing its ambition to be prestige beauty’s leader in AI-native discovery. The partnership will provide the company with visibility into how its full portfolio of brands is represented across leading generative AI platforms, as well as opportunities to optimize that representation. This partnership establishes the company as the first in prestige beauty to deploy Profound’s capabilities globally across the company’s full portfolio and operationalize Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) and AI marketing at scale. As consumers increasingly turn to ChatGPT, Gemini, and other AI assistants to discover products, compare recommendations, a
AMAALA Yacht Club Opens, Putting the Red Sea on the Global Yachting Map14.9.2026 18:00:00 CEST | Press release
Luxury sailing, wellness and exploration converge at Saudi Arabia's newest yachting destination Red Sea Global (RSG), the regenerative tourism developer, has announced that AMAALA Yacht Club has officially begun operations, marking a major milestone in establishing the Saudi Red Sea as a new global destination for luxury yachting, sailing and marine tourism. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260914160771/en/ AMAALA Yacht Club, the new luxury yachting destination on Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea coast. Nestled within AMAALA Marina Village, the AMAALA Yacht Club is now welcoming founding members and visiting yachts to moor and explore the destination. Located approximately 2,000 nautical miles from Monaco, the club provides a new winter destination for the world’s luxury sailing community, which traditionally migrates from the Mediterranean to the Caribbean or Indian Ocean from October. Positioned closer to the Mediterra
Behind the Stage Lights: How Students Learned to Trust Their Voices with Doha Debates14.9.2026 15:40:00 CEST | Press release
During high school years in Model United Nations, Dahlia Al-Ansari learned to argue on behalf of a country she was assigned to represent. But when Doha Debates invited her to join a town hall debate in Toronto this July, she faced an unfamiliar challenge: sharing her own beliefs about a timely issue. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260914150232/en/ Students from Qatar, Canada and Mexico during their visit to the University of Toronto as part of the Doha Debates Town Hall experience in Canada. (Photo: AETOSWire) An 18-year-old biological sciences student at Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar, Al-Ansari hadn’t traveled to defend a predetermined position. Instead, she discovered that she was there to think critically, express her own viewpoint and remain open to diverse perspectives. This shift required her to navigate uncharted waters, but “I’m happy that it did,” she says. “It’s showing me the importance of sp
Matt Shafer Joins Golub Capital as Head of Golub Equity Continuation Partners14.9.2026 15:30:00 CEST | Press release
Golub Capital (“the Firm”) today announced the appointment of Matt Shafer as Managing Director and Head of the Firm’s GP-led private equity secondaries strategy, Golub Equity Continuation Partners (“GECP”). In this role, he will be responsible for leading the continued growth and development of the strategy and helping expand the Firm’s equity investment capabilities. Matt will work closely with Greg Cashman, Vice Chair and Co-Head of Golub Capital’s Sponsor Finance practice, to expand Golub Capital’s activity in this growing market. Shafer brings nearly three decades of global experience as an investor, financier and advisor working with private equity firms. He was most recently Head of Capital Solutions and U.S. Private Equity at Northleaf Capital Partners. In this role, Shafer helped lead the firm’s private equity investment activities, including secondaries, co‑investments and structured capital. Prior to Northleaf, he was Partner and Head of Americas Private Equity at Vision Capi
HealthCap Invests in AMRA Medical to Accelerate Global Growth in Quantitative MRI14.9.2026 15:19:00 CEST | Press release
Investment positions AMRA to meet growing global demand for precise, scalable advanced muscle and fat imaging in clinical research and healthcare. AMRA Medical today announced an investment from HealthCap, one of Europe’s leading life science venture capital firms. This milestone marks a significant step in AMRA’s growth, underscoring market confidence in the company’s vision to transform the measurement and understanding of muscle and fat. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260914838191/en/ HealthCap Invests in AMRA Medical to Accelerate Global Growth in Quantitative MRI HealthCap’s backing comes as quantitative MRI gains vital importance in understanding how fat distribution and muscle composition influence disease, treatment response, and patient outcomes. Built on over 15 years of research, AMRA’s proprietary methods move beyond conventional metrics—like weight, and BMI and muscle function tests—to provide th
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