Conducted on an early concept demonstrator on the ground, the partners utilised green hydrogen to power the engine, marking a major step towards proving that hydrogen could be a zero-carbon aviation fuel of the future.
Taking place at an outdoor test facility at Ministry of Defence (MoD) Boscombe Down, UK, a converted Rolls-Royce AE 2100-A regional aircraft engine ran on green hydrogen supplied by European Marine Centre (EMEC), produced on the Orkney Islands, Scotland.
Following analysis of the early concept ground test, the partners plan a series of further rig tests in the lead up to a full-scale ground test of a Rolls-Royce Pearl 15 jet engine.
easyJet and Rolls-Royce this year (2022) announced they had formed a new partnership, dubbed H2ZERO, to develop hydrogen engine technology to power aircraft.
Read more: easyJet, Rolls-Royce form H2ZERO to develop hydrogen engine technology for aircraft
“The success of this hydrogen test is an exciting milestone,” said Grazia Vittadini, Chief Technology Officer at Rolls-Royce. “We only announced our partnership with easyJet in July and we are already off to an incredible start with this landmark achievement. We are pushing the boundaries to discover the zero-carbon possibilities of hydrogen, which could help reshape the future of flight.”
In March (2022), a FlyZero report revealed that liquid hydrogen could fuel a midsized aircraft with 280 passengers from London to San Francisco directly, or from London to Auckland with just one stop.
John Lundgren, CEO of easyJet, commented, “This is a real success for our partnership team. We are committed to continuing to support this ground-breaking research because hydrogen offers great possibilities for a range of aircraft, including easyJet-sized aircraft. That will be a huge step forward in meeting the challenge of Net Zero by 2050.”
The testing success has received praise from UK Government officials, with Grant Shapps, Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) labelling the developments as a “true British success story.”
Schapps said, “The UK is leading the global shift to guilt-free flying, and today’s test by Rolls-Royce and easyJet is an exciting demonstration of how business innovation can transform the way we live our lives.
“This is a true British success story, with the hydrogen being used to power the jet engine today 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.”
H2 View’s Hydrogen Mobility Snap Summit – November 29
With the mobility pillar consistently a hot topic for hydrogen markets and arguably the most anticipated and relatable application of the energy transition, H2 View stages a Mobility Snap Summit this November to summarise the progress made in 2022 and look ahead to what’s still to come.
Infrastructure challenges remain. Questions linger over policy and implementation. Many wonder which strand of the transport sector will blaze the trail in hydrogen power first, and likewise which region. There are clear challenges ahead, yet considerable progress made in 2022 and bright spots ahead in 2023 and beyond.
Join H2 View this November for a half-day online event dedicated to unearthing the progress made, dissecting the challenges to be met and establishing the state-of-play across mobility as 2023 approaches. Find more information here.
Premium Subscribers to H2 View have access to this event as part of their subscription package; non-subscribers can secure access to the event with a delegate ticket ($99). All delegates can access the event on-demand from 1st December.