The first run of a modern aero engine on hydrogen in the world was announced today by Rolls-Royce and easyJet, marking a new aviation milestone. Day by day, the popularity of electric vehicles grows. This technology’s limitations haven’t yet been overcome, though. Today, for instance, electricity is only used by ground vehicles. But the industry is still looking for environmentalist answers.
Rolls-Royce’s First Hydrogen-Fueled Aircraft Engine Details
Green hydrogen produced by wind and tidal power was used in the ground test on an early concept demonstrator. It is a crucial proof point in both Rolls-Royce and easyJet’s decarbonization strategies and represents a significant step toward establishing hydrogen as a potential future zero-carbon aviation fuel.
In order to demonstrate that hydrogen can reliably and efficiently provide power for civil aero engines, both businesses have set out to conduct tests. They have already begun planning a second round of trials, with the longer-term goal of conducting flight trials.
Using a modified Rolls-Royce AE 2100-A regional aircraft engine, the test was conducted at the MoD Boscombe Down outdoor test facility in the UK. EMEC (European Marine Energy Centre), which produces green hydrogen at its hydrogen production and tidal testing facility on Eday in the Orkney Islands, provided the green hydrogen for the tests. This hydrogen was produced using renewable energy.
Rolls-Royce and easyJet are amazing instance that can revolutionise the way we live our lives, says Grant Shapps, Industrial Strategy, Secretary of State for Business, and Energy .
It comes with the hydrogen used to power the jet engine today. It is produced using tidal and wind energy from the Orkney Islands of Scotland – and is a prime example of how we can work together to make aviation cleaner while driving jobs across the country.
We only officially announced our partnership with easyJet in July, but with this historic accomplishment, we are off to an amazing start. We are testing the limits in order to learn more about hydrogen’s zero-carbon potential and how it might change the course of aviation.
This is a real success for our partnership team, according to easyJet CEO Johan Lundgren. Because hydrogen presents exciting possibilities for a variety of aircraft, including easyJet-sized aircraft, we are committed to continuing to support this innovative research. For achieving net zero by 2050, that will be a significant step forward.
The partnership plans to conduct a number of additional rig tests following analysis of this preliminary concept ground test, culminating in a full-scale ground test of a Rolls-Royce Pearl 15 jet engine. The global, UN-backed Race to Zero campaign, to which both businesses have committed to achieving net zero carbon emissions by the year 2050, served as the inspiration for the partnership.
