Rolls-Royce kicks off liquid hydrogen fuel pump testing for easyJet aircraft system
January 4, 2024Pump testing has begun for future hydrogen-powered aircraft propulsion systems.
British automotive and manufacturing company Rolls-Royce is testing liquid hydrogen pumps that it hopes will be able to meet the demands of the low temperatures and pressures required for future aircraft propulsion systems powered by hydrogen fuel.
The company is working with easyJet to develop hydrogen combustion aero engines.
Over the past six decades, Rolls-Royce has become a world leading engine supplier in business aviation. To date, it is responsible for powering some of the biggest, fastest and longest-range business jets available. It is now working with British discount airline easyJet to develop hydrogen combustion aero engines.
These engines will be designed to be used on narrowbody aircraft, such as those aircrafts used by easyJet, with a goal to have the engines available for operation by the mid-2030s.
However, these liquid hydrogen fuel engines face a key engineering challenge – their fuel systems. In order for the fuel to be pumped into an engine and combust, the low-pressured liquid H2 (chilled below -250 degrees Celsius) must be pressurized.
The latest testing program will prove Rolls-Royce’s cryogenic liquid hydrogen pump systems.
This isn’t the first hydrogen combustion test that Rolls-Royce has carried out. Back in September, the company conducted tests on a full annual combustor of a Peral 700 engine at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in Cologne. For that test, engineers used a 100% hydrogen fuel mix to demonstrate that H2 can be combusted at conditions equivalent to maximum take-off and thrust.
Credit: Photo by depositphotos.com
This most recent testing program involving cryogenic liquid hydrogen fuel pumps is being carried out at Rolls-Royce’s Solihull facility in the UK and has received UK Government funding. The significance of this testing program is that it marks the beginning of understanding the fuel delivery element with the intention of proving the cryogenic liquid H2 pump system the company developed.
Understanding hydrogen’s potential in the aviation industry.
“We are continuing to make good progress on our hydrogen journey working alongside easyJet,” said Simon Burr, group director of engineering, technology and safety at Rolls-Royce. “Hydrogen is an opportunity that can be part of aviation’s energy transition and we are committed to fully understanding its potential.”
So far, the central focus of the testing has been on chilling the liquid hydrogen pump and understanding the pump’s behavior at cryogenic conditions.
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