World's First Modern Aero Engine Run On 'Green' Hydrogen Sustainable Aviation practices are continuing to ramp up and not just with the utilization of LED lighting and use of electric vehicles and equipment at airports or powering aircraft with blended SAF (Sustainable Aviation Fuel). Recently Rolls Royce made a test on a modern aero engine that was fed by hydrogen! It is the world's first known full-scale ground-test run on pure green hydrogen. And by green, the hydrogen utilized was made using wind and tidal power.
Rolls Royce in partnership with EasyJet had the test conducted 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. Grazia Vittadini, Chief Technology Officer, Rolls-Royce, said: "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." Not only is this test good for the future of the commercial aviation sector but also the business jet community. In the future we will perhaps eventually have business jets operating on 100% SAF and Hydrogen. 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. For more information: Rolls Royce Victory Road, Derby Derbyshire www.rolls-royce.com ***
