Rolls-Royce has reached a key milestone in developing a hydrogen-powered engine as part of plans to develop net zero planes, the engine maker has said.
The firm is working with partner easyJet to develop hydrogen combustion engine technology capable of powering a range of aircraft from the mid-2030s onwards.
It said it completed tests on a full annular combustor of a Pearl 700 engine, which was running solely on hydrogen fuel. The test proves that the fuel can be combusted at conditions needed to achieve maximum take-off thrust.
The engine used newly developed fuel spray nozzles to allow for precise control over the combustion process.
“This involved overcoming significant engineering challenges as hydrogen burns far hotter and more rapidly than kerosene,” Rolls-Royce said.
The nozzles, which were tested at Loughborough University’s recently upgraded National Centre for Combustion and Aerothermal Technology (NCCAT), were able to control the flame position using a new system that progressively mixes air with the hydrogen to manage the fuel’s reactivity.
Earlier this month, a group of UK-based aviation and renewable energy companies including easyJet and Rolls-Royce established the UK Hydrogen in Aviation alliance in a bid to decarbonise flying.
The partnership aims to ensure that the UK puts in place the infrastructure, policy, regulatory and safety frameworks needed to be ready for when the first hydrogen-powered aircraft takes to the skies.
Last year, easyJet and Rolls-Royce ran a modern aero engine, an AE2100, on green hydrogen at Boscombe Down, UK.
The recent tests have improved the engineers’ understanding of the combustion element of the hydrogen programme, while work continues on systems to deliver the fuel to the engine and integrate those systems with an engine.
Grazia Vittadini, technology chief at Rolls-Royce, said: “This is an incredible achievement in a short space of time. Controlling the combustion process is one of the key technology challenges the industry faces in making hydrogen a real aviation fuel of the future. We have achieved that, and it makes us eager to keep moving forward.”
Johan Lundgren, CEO of easyJet, said: “We believe hydrogen is the future of short-haul aviation, and the success of this test and progress being made demonstrates that this is becoming ever closer. We remain optimistic that it will play a critical role in helping us achieve the ambitious goals we set out in our net zero roadmap.”
Rolls-Royce and easyJet are now preparing to undertake a full ground test on a Pearl engine running on solely liquid hydrogen.
