Intelligent Energy surges on US drone deal

Shares in Intelligent Energy surged on Thursday after the company said it has signed a deal with the US’s PINC to supply its air cooled fuel cell systems for unmanned aerial vehicles for an undisclosed sum. This marks the group’s first sale of fuel cell systems for UAVs as it moves forward with the commercialisation of its technology. California-based PINC uses UAVs to identify and orchestrate hard-to-reach inventory and assets in the global supply chain and provides yard management, finished vehicle logistics, and inventory robotics solutions to the world's largest manufacturers, retailers and contract logistics providers. Intelligent Energy's fuel cell systems for UAVs offer longer flight time, fast refuel capabilities and flexibility for varying payloads, addressing some of the biggest challenges for users. Julian Hughes, senior vice president of Intelligent Energy, said: "I am delighted to announce the first sales of our fuel cell systems for UAV application. PINC is leading the way with the use of hydrogen fuel cell UAVs in the supply chain and we are certain they will be impressed with the benefits our fuel cells will offer over conventional batteries. We look forward to a long relationship with them." PINC will operate the fuel cell powered UAVs alongside battery operated UAVs as part of its inventory robotics offering, which provides real-time inventory tracking by air. At 1048 GMT, the shares were up 122% to 12.75p.