One of the biggest problems faced by drone users nowadays is the lack of powerful battery packs to power the device and enjoy longer flight time. But a British company claims that it is currently testing a drone prototype that will fix the problem.

Tech company Intelligent Energy claims that is has developed a new battery prototype that allows drones to stay in flight for more than an hour. If that is true, the new prototype will be significantly powerful compared to battery packs that are currently installed on most drones which can only last up to 20 minutes on average.

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Intelligent Energy has developed a prototype for a hydrogen fuel cell which can be installed into a drone. In a test, a DJI Matrice 100 drone was fitted with one of the hydrogen fuel cells and it was able to stay in flight for more than an hour.

Hydrogen fuel cells work by converting hydrogen gas into electricity, which in return fuels the drone. Through complex chemical processes, hydrogen fuel cells can create enough electricity to power even a standard-sized car. The best part of this is that the only by-product of the fuel cells is water vapor, making it very environment friendly.

Fresh fuel comes in cartridges and can be replaced in just a matter of seconds. This means that whenever the drone gets low on fuel, operators can simply land it and quickly change the freshly charged fuel cartridges.

"There's an obvious barrier in battery life, and we saw an obvious need to increase that," Intelligent Energy head of consumer electronics division Julian Hughes said in an interview.

Hughes added that the company is working on a secondary hybrid prototype wherein the fuel cell is constantly charging a conventional battery.

Intelligent Energy is planning to display the prototypes at the upcoming CES convention in January 2016.

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