Industry first for hydrogen-fuelled jet engine development

The effort to develop a hydrogen-fuelled jet engine is being led by Rolls-Royce in partnership with easyJet and assistance from Loughborough University’s National Centre for Combustion and Aerothermal Technology (NCCAT) and the German Aerospace Centre Deutsches Zentrum für Luft-und Raumfahrt (DLR) in Cologne where tests were carried out on a full annular combustor of a Pearl 700 engine. 

In a statement 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.”

Key to the achievement is the design of advanced fuel spray nozzles to control the combustion process. Significant engineering challenges had to be overcome as hydrogen burns hotter and more rapidly than kerosene; the nozzles control the flame position using a system that progressively mixes air with hydrogen to manage the fuel’s reactivity.