Sesame Solar’s Nanogrids Promise Major Gains in Drone Endurance: Aerospace & Defense Technology Podcast

Published on

February 20, 2026

On the Aerospace & Defense Technology podcast episode “Sesame Solar’s Nanogrids Promise Major Gains in Drone Endurance” (Season 13, Ep. 4), host Woodrow Bellamy interviews Sesame Solar Co-founder and CEO Lauren Flanagan about how the company’s mobile, off-grid nanogrids are changing what’s practical for long-range, persistent drone missions. Flanagan breaks down Sesame Solar’s “continuous loop” system—solar generation paired with battery storage and on-site hydrogen production—designed to deliver reliable power in remote or contested environments where fuel deliveries are risky, costly, or simply impossible.

The conversation focuses on the operational leap this enables for uncrewed aerial vehicles: a deployable “refueling grid” concept that can arrive with stored hydrogen for immediate flight operations, then keep producing fuel on-site to sustain missions for extended periods. Flanagan also connects the technology to real defense use cases—like powering sensors, communications, and edge computing for perimeter security without a fuel supply chain—while looking ahead to more autonomous, self-sustaining field operations where power, communications, and even parts/tools can travel together as a single resilient package.

Listen to the podcast here:

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Key takeaways

Mobile nanogrid = self-generating power loop: solar → batteries → hydrogen (via electrolysis) → fuel cell back to batteries when needed, enabling near-continuous off-grid operations.
Designed for rapid deployment: trailer/ISO-container form factor, set up quickly (e.g., “operational in ~15 minutes” framing in the discussion).
Hydrogen as “field energy storage”: produced on-site when demand is low, then used later to cover night/high-load/low-sun periods—functionally extending endurance beyond batteries alone.
Safety + transportability are central: emphasis on safer storage approaches (low-pressure storage for transport; higher-pressure handling for aviation refueling use cases).
Proven defense relevance: cited applications include perimeter security (sensors/cameras/AI compute), remote comms (including Starlink connectivity), and operations in hot environments where passive cooling reduces power needs.
Drone endurance and sustainment: the refueling grid concept supports hydrogen-powered UAVs with multi-hour flight times and the ability to keep operating without exposed fuel logistics.
Logistics reduction = resilience + survivability: locally produced fuel reduces vulnerable supply chains (and the “targeting” risk that comes with them).
Future-looking platform, not just a generator: the vision expands to powering mixed drone fleets (hydrogen + battery), plus enabling a broader “operational independence” stack (power + comms + tools/spares, potentially even additive manufacturing support).

Listen to other podcasts featuring Sesame Solar Co-founder and CEO Lauren Flanagan: