But there is still a long road ahead.
Alternatives to combustion engines are not limited to cars and trucks, they are also working on it for maritime and air transport. Applying electric or hydrogen mechanics to aviation is somewhat complex, due to the weight they carry, but progress is being made: Rolls-Royce has tested the first hydrogen aircraft engine.
The company has joined forces with the airline EasyJet and has adapted one of its aircraft engines, the Rolls-Royce AE 2100, to run on a hydrogen jet system. The test has been on the ground and with the engine running independently, which is the first step before venturing out to do a flight test.
And it is that although it has been a success, the road ahead is long, since a prototype must be developed that can fly and that has storage systems for hydrogen, which is very bulky and has to be preserved in quite specific conditions.
Thus, the volume is about four times greater than that of conventional fuel, which is a challenge in terms of space, and it has to be stored at very low temperatures to reach the liquid state.
Grazia Vittadini, Rolls-Royce Chief Technology Officer, said: “The success of this hydrogen test is an exciting milestone. We announced our partnership with EasyJet in July, and we’re already off to an incredible start with this historic achievement.”
We are pushing the boundaries to discover the zero-carbon possibilities of hydrogen, which could help reshape the future of flight.
Johan Lundgren, CEO of easyJet, added: “We are committed to continuing to support this pioneering research because hydrogen offers great potential for a variety of aircraft, including those the size of easyJet. That will be a big step forward in meeting the challenge of net zero emissions by 2050.”
