Rolls-Royce has achieved a significant milestone in its hydrogen research project, in collaboration with easyJet, towards developing hydrogen combustion engine technology for aircraft. They have successfully tested a full annular combustor of a Pearl 700 engine running on 100% hydrogen at maximum take-off thrust conditions.
The critical achievement was designing advanced fuel spray nozzles to control hydrogen combustion, which overcame engineering challenges due to hydrogen’s rapid and hot burning.
The tests confirmed combustor operability and emissions were as expected. This achievement marks a crucial step in making hydrogen a viable aviation fuel.
Further work will focus on fuel delivery and integration with engines. Both companies aim to advance the technology to flight in the future.