A Michigan defense contractor has developed a mobile refueling system that generates hydrogen fuel from solar power and atmospheric moisture, enabling military drones to operate continuously for up to six months in remote areas without fuel resupply.
Sesame Solar and hydrogen drone manufacturer Heven AeroTech announced the Drone Refueling Nanogrid last week, a trailer-sized system designed to address fuel logistics challenges in contested or remote environments. A prime contractor is already marketing the technology to War Department customers and allied nations, with particular interest from the Indo-Pacific region.
The system pairs with Heven's Z-1 vertical takeoff and landing drones, which run on hydrogen fuel cells instead of batteries or gasoline. The combination delivers significant tactical advantages.
“Silent, hydrogen-powered drones outperform traditional battery-powered or gas-powered drones for several reasons,” said Lauren Flanagan, CEO of Sesame Solar. “First, most battery-powered drones can only run for an hour or two before needing to be recharged. Both battery and gas-powered drones have higher thermal and acoustic signatures, which increase enemy detection.”
The Z-1 can fly for over eight hours per mission—roughly six times longer than battery-powered systems—while the hydrogen fuel cells produce lower heat and noise signatures that make the drones harder to detect and target.
Once deployed, the nanogrid can support 24/7 drone operations for up to six months without requiring fuel deliveries. The system takes about 15 minutes to set up and requires one person to operate.
Solar Power Converts Air Into Drone Fuel
The mobile refueling station uses solar panels to generate electricity, which powers an atmospheric water generator that pulls moisture from the air. The water then goes through electrolysis to split it into hydrogen and oxygen. The hydrogen gets stored in a solid-state system at low pressure, eliminating explosion risks associated with compressed hydrogen tanks.
“At Heven, our hydrogen-powered UAS paired with Sesame's Mobile DRNs can stay aloft 24/7 and operate for months in the field while being stationed in remote environments, without the need to bring in hydrogen,” said Bentzion Levinson, CEO of Heven AeroTech.
Each Z-1 drone carries a 10-pound sensor payload for intelligence gathering and surveillance missions. The complete system includes two drones, satellite communications, radar, edge computing, and atmospheric water generation.
Army Corps of Engineers, Marines Already Using Earlier Versions
Sesame Solar has been supplying mobile power systems to military customers for four years. Sixty-five nanogrids are already deployed with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Marines, and other customers across the United States, Caribbean, and Indo-Pacific, though those earlier systems powered different applications like perimeter security and communications.
The company recently opened a 38,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Jackson, Michigan, and has increased production from tens of units to hundreds. Flanagan said the company plans to ramp production to thousands of units as it raises additional capital.
Each complete Drone Refueling Nanogrid system starts at $1.5 million, depending on specifications. However, Flanagan emphasized that the system eliminates fuel supply chain expenses over six-month deployments.
System Targets Pacific Operations, Border Security
The technology could prove valuable for Marine units operating on remote Pacific islands, Special Forces conducting extended surveillance in hostile territory, or border patrol operations in desert areas. In scenarios where fuel convoys become targets or supply lines are vulnerable, a system that generates its own fuel eliminates a critical weak point.
The Pentagon has been pushing to expand drone capabilities following lessons from Ukraine, where unmanned systems have become central to modern warfare. War Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a memo in July directing the military services to equip every squad with drones by the end of fiscal year 2026, with Indo-Pacific units getting priority.
Hydrogen fuel cell drones have been in development since NASA's experimental programs in the 1990s, but logistics challenges around hydrogen storage and refueling have limited military adoption. Sesame and Heven's system aims to solve that problem by generating and storing hydrogen on-site.
U.S. Manufacturing and Domestic Supply Chain
The company stressed its domestic supply chain as a selling point as the Pentagon works to reduce dependence on Chinese manufacturing.
“Unlike many electronics systems that source parts from China, Sesame does not source any power generation or storage components from China,” Flanagan said. The nanogrids are manufactured entirely in the United States.
“By removing reliance on fuel supply chains, often controlled by countries outside of the U.S., we're giving troops the ability to focus on mission-critical tasks, making military operations more efficient and helping to keep Americans and our allies safer,” Flanagan said.
The new system remains in the marketing phase, with no confirmed military purchases of the drone refueling version yet. But with a growing Pentagon emphasis on extended drone operations and energy independence, the technology offers a potential solution to keeping unmanned systems airborne in places where fuel trucks can't go.
