Bulgaria

The EU supports scientists, researchers and innovators in pushing the boundaries of knowledge. It has invested nearly €500 million across more than 3.300 research and industry organisations in Bulgaria. Meet Svilen and Konstantin whose company develops cargo drone technology, and discover other groundbreaking work done in polymer science and electric engineering.

Enabling same-day cargo delivery for everyone, everywhere

The Bulgarian company Dronamics is transforming cargo logistics across Europe, with a mission to make same-day delivery possible for everyone, everywhere. Ιts Black Swan aircraft is designed specifically for freight and can carry up to 350 kg over 2,500 km – the distance from Sofia to Dublin – in a single flight.

Closer to a flying delivery van than a hobby drone, it is large, robust and built to connect cities, towns and remote villages alike. By tackling the barriers of distance, the innovative cargo drone boosts connectivity, enables long-distance same-day deliveries, and brings opportunities to underserved regions in Bulgaria and beyond.

Innovators in Action - Meet Svilen and Konstantin in Bulgaria

The full story

EU-supported innovators in Sofia, Bulgaria, are working towards bringing autonomous logistics to Europe, making the continent more connected. Their answer is a cargo drone they call the Black Swan.

Brothers and co-founders of Dronamics, Svilen and Konstantin Rangelov, together with their team, have built an unmanned aircraft capable of carrying 350 kilogrammes of payload over a range of 2,500 kilometres, and which requires a runway of less than half a kilometre.

Svilen explains that the idea goes back to Konstantin’s days as an aerospace student in the Netherlands. Craving Bulgarian cheese, Konstantin asked his brother to bring some in his suitcase. Instead, inspired by the idea of drone delivery, Svilen suggested that Konstantin use his knowledge of engineering to design a way of transporting goods quickly and cheaply across longer distances that would work for a European environment.

We started with a clear mission - to enable same-day delivery for everyone, everywhere. Trade is the backbone of the global economy.
- Svilen Rangelov, Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer of Dronamics

‘Only 1% of goods globally are transported by air due to cost. If we can unlock rapid, reliable logistics for more people, especially those in underserved regions, this would be a competitive advantage for Europeans’.

With EU support, Dronamics has created a European innovation that will serve European customers. The co-founders’ dedication to the development of the Black Swan comes from a passionate belief that current supply lines put Europeans living outside major hubs at a disadvantage.

‘In the EU alone, approx. 20 million people live on islands or island areas, says Svilen. ‘We're making a workhorse. A flying delivery van that is reliable, that you can fly day in, day out and connect your city, town and village to all the other ones’.

The brothers aim to change the way Europe moves goods, making it more efficient, affordable and sustainable. They expect their drone will support direct fulfilment which will benefit smaller businesses and suppliers. . ‘From a central location, you can serve all of Europe on a same-day basis. So, you don't need 100 warehouses. You don't need to anticipate customers’ demand. You need one warehouse or your factory’, Svilen explains.

Sustainability has been integral to the design of the drone from the beginning. As the first remotely-piloted aircraft of its size to be built exclusively for cargo, it is the most fuel-efficient per kilogramme of cargo carried. It is also modular, so that it can adapt to new propulsion technology as and when it becomes available.

Trade is not the only function the Black Swan will serve. The brothers foresee the range, endurance, and payload capacity of the drone being an advantage in emergency and civil protection missions. It could, for example, provide humanitarian aid and fight fires from the air.

Now going through its final stages of testing, the Black Swan will shortly be able to begin commercial operation, but this is not the end of the story. ‘As we're the type of company that both designs, manufactures and operates, we're going to keep building more and more aircraft, flying more and more aircraft, and serving more and more customers in more and more countries’, Svilen says.

Konstantin is even more ambitious: ‘For our company, the next step would be commercial flights, as many as we can get. After that, a couple more airplane designs – and space’.

For Svilen and Konstantin, it seems that the sky is not the limit.

Other project examples

Novel bioplastic to cut packaging pollution

Packaging is responsible for a significant proportion of the world’s plastic waste. However, less than 10% is recycled and much of it ends up in landfills or incinerators, polluting the environment. EU-supported researchers have developed a bioplastic alternative to laminating and packaging film that offers the same protection as conventional products while avoiding the environmental impact.

Uniting thermal imaging and AI to combat arterial disease

Peripheral arterial disease (PAD), which involves the narrowing or blockage of vessels that carry blood from the heart to the legs, affects more than 230 million people worldwide. However, it is less well-known than other vascular conditions, such as heart disease, and is often poorly diagnosed. EU-supported researchers investigated the use of a technique that incorporates thermal imaging and artificial intelligence to help diagnose PAD.