Rolls-Royce and easyJet report the world’s first run of a modern aero engine on hydrogen. The ground test was conducted on an early concept demonstrator using green hydrogen created by wind and tidal power. It marks a major step towards proving that hydrogen could be a zero carbon aviation fuel of the future and is a key proof point in the decarbonization strategies of both Rolls-Royce and easyJet.

Both companies have set out to prove that hydrogen can safely and efficiently deliver power for civil aero engines and are already planning a second set of tests, with a longer-term ambition to carry out flight tests.

The test took place at an outdoor test facility at MoD Boscombe Down, UK, using a converted Rolls-Royce AE 2100-A regional aircraft engine. Green hydrogen for the tests was supplied by EMEC (European Marine Energy Centre), generated using renewable energy at their hydrogen production and tidal test facility on Eday in the Orkney Islands, UK.

The success of this hydrogen test is an exciting milestone. 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.

—Grazia Vittadini, Chief Technology Officer, Rolls-Royce

Following analysis of this early concept ground test, the partnership plans a series of further rig tests leading up to a full-scale ground test of a Rolls-Royce Pearl 15 jet engine.

Aviation H2. On a different scale, Aviation H2’s Director & Principal Engineer, Dr Helmut Mayer, recently posted a video explaining the process behind modifying the Swiwin SW170b-2448 micro turbine (earlier post) so it operates on liquid ammonia, the company’s hydrogen carrier of choice.

The company is designing the mechanical modifications and sending them to a machinist to be built while also rewriting the code in the engine’s control system so it can process the carbon-free fuel and the changes to the turbine.

Once the engine is operational in early 2023, it will serve as a proof of concept for the conversion model the company developed in its feasibility study conducted earlier this year. Following this, the company will purchase a Dassault Falcon 50, which they expect to have in the skies in early 2024.