Techno–economic analysis of fuel cell powered urban air mobility system

Abstract

This study verified the technological and economic feasibility of converting urban air mobility (UAM) to a fuel cell–battery hybrid propulsion system from an existing battery–only propulsion system. The battery–fuel cell hybrid propulsion UAM was conceptually designed through reverse engineering and redesigned of the existing battery–only propulsion UAM. Under various design conditions, the economic feasibility of the hybrid propulsion system was verified through life cycle cost (LCC) analysis. Hybrid propulsion UAMs designed with appropriate hybridization ratios had 10% lower life cycle costs than battery-only propulsion UAMs. In particular, this cost–saving effect was more noticeable when UAM's flight distance became longer. The life cycle cost increased proportionally as the number of UAM passengers increased, but was relatively unrelated to energy storage technology improvements. Considering the current electricity and hydrogen price changes, the economic feasibility of fuel cell–battery hybrid UAM is expected to continue to improve in the future compared to batteries alone.