Review of energy management technologies for unmanned aerial vehicles powered by hydrogen fuel cell

Hybrid electric unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) powered by hydrogen fuel cells represent a transformative advancement in UAV technology, offering pollution-free operation and extended flight endurance. However, they face critical energy management challenges due to the complex coupling relationship between dynamic flight motion and hybrid energy systems. This directly impacts their efficiency, endurance, and operational reliability. According to the coupling relationship, this paper systematically addresses this challenge by reviewing the current research state and relevant literatures on energy management technologies for hybrid electric UAVs. The scalable and adaptive energy management technology framework is proposed in this paper for hybrid electric UAVs. The framework includes three-levels composing with management and control of fuel cell, energy management strategies for hybrid energy systems, and energy management coupled with flight missions. According to this framework, the related advancements of energy management technologies for hybrid electric UAVs are reviewed. It also provides a discussion on the future development and current challenges of energy management technologies for hybrid electric UAVs. This work not only summarizes the latest research progress of the existing literatures for hybrid electric UAVs but also provide a comprehensive roadmap for future research. It hopes to promote the development of hybrid electric UAVs. © 2025 Elsevier Ltd