Zero Petroleum will supply its revolutionary fossil-free fuel to the world’s first licensed drone cargo airline, Dronamics, for testing with a view to commercial use in its long-range cargo drone. The partnership aims to support the creation of Dronamics’ sustainable same-day delivery service for items such as e-commerce goods, perishable food, manufacturing parts and medical supplies.
Zero Petroleum’s ZERO SynAVGAS fuel will be used in Dronamics’ ‘Black Swan’ drone to enable the company to deliver a carbon-neutral operation. The drone, which can carry a 350kg payload over distances of up to 2,500km, is powered by a ROTAX propeller engine provided by CFS Aeroproducts.
Dronamics recently became the first drone cargo company in the world to obtain a European drone airline license and is currently working with a consortium in the UK to build out a medical supply drone network for NHS Scotland.
Zero Petroleum Co-Founder and CEO Paddy Lowe said, “As a former Formula One engineer, I have spent my entire career working on cutting edge innovation so I am very excited for Zero Petroleum to partner with Dronamics and CFS Aeroproducts on this potentially ground-breaking project. Operating an autonomous delivery network on this scale makes great sense but to carry these heavy payloads over such great distances would be impossible using electric power. Our fossil-free fuels, which have a carbon neutral lifecycle and can be produced in a factory on any site close to water and renewable power, are the ideal way to deliver this as a fully sustainable alternative to the existing airfreight solution.”
Dronamics Co-Founder and CEO Svilen Rangelov said, “Sustainability is a vital part of our plans and as the first drone cargo airline in the world, we are delighted to have secured an agreement for Zero Petroleum to supply their fuel for Dronamics’ future drone network. Not only is the fuel entirely sustainable and fossil-free, the modular manufacturing process has a small footprint so it fits perfectly into our future drone port plans, potentially enabling the fuel to be produced on-site. We are very excited to work with the team at Zero Petroleum as we move towards commercial operations in the coming year.”