The Sky's the Limit: The Hybrid Engine That Aims to Change the World of UAVs

In the last decade, the world of UAVs has become one of the fastest-growing sectors in the global economy. These include not only the new and advanced developments in the fields of combat and homeland defense, but a multitude of tasks that UAVs currently perform in fields such as security, agriculture, mapping and measurements, infrastructure, traffic control, landscape photography, surveillance, research and more. Along with the enormous development of the world of UAVs, its various types and characteristics, an acute problem has arisen concerning small UAVs. "Besides the great revolution in the UAV sector, which is reflected in the constant appearance of innovative and advanced products in the market, the problem of the operational time of these devices has become critical," notes Col. (Res.) Doron Fridman, CEO of Lowental Hybrid.

According to him, "Unlike the large and expensive UAVs powered by large and complex fuel-based engines, which make it possible to have flights for long hours, sometimes 24 hours or more, small UAVs are powered by much smaller lightweight batteries, compared to what we are familiar with in electric vehicles, and naturally the smaller they are, the more limited the UAV's mission time."

The individuals who identified this point of failure and provided a reliable solution are Itai (CTO) and Netta Lowental, the founders of Lowental Hybrid, who established the company in 2018 as an innovative technological startup focused on UAV propulsion. The solution the two brought to the world is a smart hybrid propulsion system that combines an electric propulsion unit with a fuel-based propulsion unit.

"You can say that our solution is based on taking the best of both worlds – it preserves the simplicity of operation and ability to fly quietly with an electric engine on the one hand, and on the other hand, makes it possible to make very long flights on a fuel-efficient engine," explains Doron. "The major challenge in development was to create a system that wouldn't be too heavy, since weight is very significant in these small UAVs and every gram you save can be used for fuel or carrying additional payload. The company was able to do this and the solution it developed is both lightweight and extremely energy-efficient, which dramatically increased the time the UAV can remain in the air."

An Average of 8-10 Hours
In fact, the flight time has been multiplied several times over. From an average range of about two hours, which was customary for small electric UAVs, the devices in which Lowental Hybrid's hybrid systems are installed manage to reach an operational time of 8-10 hours. This is a significant revolution in the UAV world because extending the mission time so dramatically expands the range of uses of small UAVs. Now, from relatively limited uses, they can perform complex and long missions that previously required a fleet of UAVs or a large UAV.

Doron elaborates: "Let's take the battlefield as an example. Unlike a large UAV that operates like an airplane and requires takeoff from an airfield, a small UAV can be operated from the ground, outside the combat zone, by a single soldier or a small team and it will remain in the air for many hours for observation and then return to the forces with valuable intelligence. You could say that this small UAV becomes the eyes of the soldiers on the ground, and this is a revolution that changes the rules of the game – we've seen the widespread use of these tools in many conflicts around the world as well as in Israel, and now is the time to expand the performance envelope to flight durations that did not exist previously in this sphere."

"Another example in the military sphere is the naval sector – a UAV can take off from a ship's deck in the middle of the sea, cover hundreds of kilometers in order to identify a vessel detected by systems, and transmit the critical information back to the ship. Another world where this capability is improving is in border protection, for preventing smuggling or security purposes. Using a UAV that will stay in the air for hours, the forces will have the ability to cover borders of hundreds of kilometers. The use can also expand to the energy sector, using UAVs to monitor power lines or oil pipelines. These lines are many kilometers long, sometimes in desert areas, and instead of sending crews for control purposes, this can be done from the air using a small, inexpensive UAV."

Applications also in the Private Sector
Three years after the company was established, Beffective invested in it and helped develop the company on the business and managerial levels. The company's Chair is Major General (Res.) Amikam Norkin, former commander of the Air Force, and the CEO is Doron Fridman, who has decades of experience in the Air Force, among others in key positions in the area of missile defense force building. These days the company completed a significant fundraising round, which will help in the commercial development of its products, while also integrating the UAVs of several companies in various fields.

"We presented the development at the last UVID conference – the main UAV conference in Israel, and many companies expressed great interest," says Doron. "At the moment, we are working with customers in Israel and abroad, with our intention being to reach the world's largest UAV manufacturers in the U.S. and elsewhere. The focus now is on the defense and security sector, but we strongly believe in our product and believe that extending flight hours is essential for private sector UAV applications."

And the vision for the future?
"Our ultimate goal is to become a recognized and leading global company in UAV propulsion, and given that we have a patented, first of its kind solution, we are definitely on the right path," he concludes.

To the company website>>

In cooperation with Lowental Hybrid