Engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce has tested an aircraft engine running on 100 % hydrogen for the first time at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in Cologne. This was made possible by a new injection nozzle. The engine is to be used in aircraft operated by easyJet.
For the test, the project partners used the combustion chamber of a Pearl 700 engine. The individual nozzles were initially tested at medium pressure in test facilities at Loughborough University and at DLR Cologne. The tests that have now taken place were able to take place at full pressure.
The test was part of a project between Rolls-Royce Holding plc and easyJet Airline Company plc. The aim is to develop a hydrogen combustion engine for aircraft.
New injectors enable hydrogen use
The focus of the research was on newly designed fuel injectors to control the combustion process. According to Rolls-Royce, the challenge in the development was that hydrogen burns hotter and faster than kerosene.
The nozzles now make it possible to regulate the hydrogen combustion process for the first time, it said. According to the manufacturer, the nozzles can control the flame position with a specific system. Air is gradually added to the hydrogen to change the reactivity of the fuel.
The tests have now proved that the fuel can be burned even under the maximum power, he said. Both the functionality of the combustion chamber and the emissions were within the expected range.
Hydrogen combustion engines from 2030?
Last year, the companies had already operated an AE2100 engine at Boscombe Down in the UK with a hydrogen component.
The knowledge gained is now to be incorporated into the next phase of the project. It includes ground tests on the Pearl 700, first with gaseous and then with liquid hydrogen. The companies' goal, he said, is to subsequently test the technology in flight.
Rolls-Royce and Loughborough University are receiving support for their hydrogen research from the U.K. Aerospace Technology Institute HyEST program. The research is also supported by Germany's LUFO 6 program and the EU's Clean Aviation CAVENDISH program.
The aim is for hydrogen engines to power the first short- and medium-haul aircraft from the mid-2030s.
