One of the numerous competing technologies that might assist the aviation sector in achieving its objective of becoming net zero by 2050 is hydrogen.
Rolls-Royce and EasyJet claim to have achieved a new aviation milestone with the first run of a modern aero engine powered by hydrogen. The ground test was performed using green hydrogen produced by wind and tidal power on an early concept demonstrator.
According to a news release from both firms, the research is a significant step toward demonstrating that hydrogen might be a zero-carbon aviation fuel in the future and is a vital proof point in their decarbonization strategy.
With a longer-term goal of conducting flight testing, the businesses have set out to demonstrate that hydrogen can produce power for civil aircraft engines safely and effectively. They have already begun preparing a second set of experiments.
Rolls Royce’s Chief Technology Officer, Grazia Vittadini, said, “This hydrogen test was successful, which is a tremendous accomplishment. Even though we only recently announced our cooperation with easyJet, we are off to a fantastic start with this significant accomplishment. We are pushing the envelope to learn more about hydrogen’s zero-carbon potential, which could help transform the future of aviation.”
EasyJet’s CEO, Johan Lundgren, said: “For our partnership team, this is a major accomplishment. Because hydrogen has fantastic potential for various aircraft, including EasyJet-sized aircraft, we are dedicated to continuing to fund this ground-breaking research. That will be a significant advancement towards achieving net zero by 2050.”
The test was conducted with a modified Rolls-Royce AE 2100-A regional aircraft engine at the UK MoD Boscombe Down outdoor test facility. EMEC (European Marine Energy Centre) provides the green hydrogen used in the tests, which produces it on Eday in the UK’s Orkney Islands using renewable energy.
“The UK is leading the global transition to guilt-free flying, and today’s test by Rolls-Royce and easyJet is an exciting indication of how commercial innovation can revolutionize how we live our lives,” said Grant Shapps, Secretary of State for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy.
“This is a true British success story, with the hydrogen used to power the jet engine being created using tidal and wind energy from the Orkney Islands of Scotland – and is a prime illustration of how we can work together to make aviation cleaner while driving jobs across the country,” said the author.
Following this early concept ground test analysis, the partnership plans a series of further rig tests leading to a full-scale ground test of a Rolls-Royce Pearl 15 jet engine.
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