Open Access

REVIEW

Review of Power Systems and Energy Management Control Strategies for Fuel Cell Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

Lu Han^1,*, Jiajie Lei¹, Tailei Zhang¹, Haibing Jiang¹, Shuo Shen², Yukun Feng³
1 Anhui Electric Power Transmission and Transformation Co., Ltd., Hefei, China
2 School of Automotive and Transportation Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, China
3 Jiangsu Duoduan Technology Co., Ltd., Nanjing, China
* Corresponding Author: Lu Han. Email:

Energy Engineering https://doi.org/10.32604/ee.2026.087358

Received 15 June 2026; Accepted 02 September 2026; Published online 11 September 2026

Abstract

As unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) continue to expand from consumer applications to logistics, emergency rescue, inspection and surveying, agricultural plant protection, long-endurance reconnaissance, and high-altitude mission platforms, their mission scenarios are becoming increasingly specialized, complex, and reliability-critical. The power system has therefore become a key factor defining platform performance limits and engineering applicability. Compared with conventional lithium-battery propulsion, fuel cells, particularly proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs), offer distinct advantages in system specific energy, low noise, low vibration, and long endurance, making them promising power sources for long-endurance and high-value UAV platforms. Nevertheless, the engineering deployment of fuel cell UAVs is still constrained by insufficient dynamic power response, complex onboard hydrogen storage and supply systems, strong coupling among thermal, water, and gas management, environmental adaptability and durability degradation constraints, and inadequate coordination between energy management and flight missions. This paper reviews recent progress in fuel cell UAVs by synthesizing evidence on the evolution of UAV power systems, the application status of fuel cells in UAV platforms, the development of key fuel cell technologies for UAVs, and the emerging trends in energy management and control strategies. On this basis, the main technical bottlenecks are discussed, and future research directions are proposed, including lightweight stacks, high-specific-energy hydrogen storage, health-aware control, and integrated mission-energy optimization. The review is intended to provide a reference for subsequent research and engineering applications of fuel cell UAV power systems. This narrative review uses a transparent literature-search and screening procedure and contributes a mission-oriented taxonomy that links UAV configuration, hydrogen-storage boundary, PEMFC balance-of-plant design, validation maturity, and onboard energy-management feasibility.

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Keywords

Fuel cell UAV; proton exchange membrane fuel cell; hybrid power system; energy management; control strategy

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