May 21, 2026

Success at LIFT: Separator Plates for Fuel Cells to Power Unmanned Aerial Systems

Washington, DC — The whole is greater than the sum of its parts, but when a single component fails, the entire system can be compromised, and sourcing a suitable replacement becomes a formidable challenge. This was the situation faced by the Military Services when a foreign adversary acquired the manufacturer of a critical fuel cell component for unmanned aerial systems (UAS). To address the supply chain gap, the Department of War Manufacturing Technology Program (DoW ManTech), in collaboration with LIFT – one of the DoW Manufacturing Innovation Institutes – and Northwest UAV, launched a pilot production line for fuel cell separator plates. The separator plate pilot project has now completed at LIFT and is ready to transition to commercial production.