Uplifting Aviation Green news on Workable Nozzles for Hydrogen Combustion
Below is a positive report on the exploration of hydrogen as a, if not THE, sustainable alternative fuel for commercial aircraft. The good news is that a UK academic research institution and the country’s legendary powerplant manufacturer have designed fuel nozzle sprays for an annulated combustor that will provide the level of control needed to make hydrogen burn workable.
Hydrogen looks to have promise for this reduction of aviation’s carbon footprint; so, taking time to read the technical specifications of this breakthrough is worthy of those prognosticating the eventual cleanest airliner energy source.
Global policy decision makers have reached a CONSENSUS that aviation must reduce its carbon impact. However, the DEBATE IS RAMPANT, CONTENTIOUS AND CONTINUING about deadlines, the need to subsidize the development of sustainable alternative fuels (SAFs), development of the required infrastructure(s), imposition of taxes to encourage use of SAFs, the efficacy of the range of SAFs in various stages of proof and the role of governments/international bodies/NGOs in these pathways to GREEN. The list of energy sources being considered is long; each candidate has some drawbacks; the researchers are trying to identify reasonable, efficient, and financially feasible answers to those concerns. The literature on all these subjects merit study, but too long to review here:
- A Future Fuel for aviation?
- Sustainable aviation: NASA ups bet on liquid hydrogen
- Sustainability: Alternative Fuels | GE Aerospace
- Alternative Fuels Data Center: Sustainable Aviation Fuel (energy.gov)
- Sustainable Aviation Fuels | Department of Energy
- What is sustainable aviation fuel and how is it made? | World Economic Forum (weforum.org)
- NASA Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Research Activities
- Net zero 2050: sustainable aviation fuels (iata.org)
- Everything you need to know about SAFs | MIT Technology Review
- Recent advancements in sustainable aviation fuels – ScienceDirect
- Alternative Aviation Fuels: Overview of Challenges, Opportunities, and Next Steps (energy.gov)
- The green hydrogen ecosystem for aviation, explained | Airbus
- The challenges and opportunities of battery-powered flight | Nature
- Air Force, GM Defense Power Aircraft Using Commercial Battery Technology – FLYING Magazine
- Electric planes are coming: Short-hop regional flights could be running on batteries in a few years (theconversation.com)
- Start-up Targets Sustainable and Accessible Regional Airliner | FutureFlight
- 6 electric aviation companies to watch | GreenBiz
- Hybrid and electric flight | Airbus
- Israeli all-electric plane maker readies for 1st flight, new ‘age of aviation’ | The Times of Israel
Further technical aspects remain, but such good news is encouraging!!!
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Rolls-Royce nozzle breakthrough brings hydrogen plane engines closer to reality
By Jack Loughran
Published Tuesday, September 26, 2023
Rolls-Royce has reached a key milestone in developing a hydrogen-powered engine as part of plans to develop net zero planes, the engine maker has said.
The firm is working with partner easyJet to develop HYDROGEN COMBUSTION ENGINE TECHNOLOGY capable of powering a range of aircraft from the mid-2030s onwards.
It said it completed tests on a full annular combustor of a Pearl 700 engine, which was running solely on hydrogen fuel. The test proves that the fuel can be combusted at conditions needed to achieve maximum take-off thrust.
The engine used newly developed fuel spray nozzles to allow for precise control over the combustion process.
“This involved overcoming significant engineering challenges as HYDROGEN BURNS FAR HOTTER AND MORE RAPIDLY THAN KEROSENE,” Rolls-Royce said.
The nozzles, which were tested at Loughborough University’s recently upgraded National Centre for Combustion and Aerothermal Technology (NCCAT), were able to control the flame position using a new system that progressively mixes air with the hydrogen to manage the fuel’s reactivity.
Earlier this month, a group of UK-based aviation and renewable energy companies including easyJet and Rolls-Royce established the UK Hydrogen in Aviation Alliance1 in a bid to decarbonise flying.
The partnership aims to ensure that the UK puts in place the infrastructure, policy, regulatory and safety frameworks needed to be ready for when the first hydrogen-powered aircraft takes to the skies.
Last year, easyJet and Rolls-Royce ran a modern aero engine, an AE2100, on green hydrogen at Boscombe Down, UK.
The recent tests have improved the engineers’ understanding of the combustion element of the hydrogen programme, while work continues on systems to deliver the fuel to the engine and integrate those systems with an engine.
Grazia Vittadini, technology chief at Rolls-Royce, said: “This is an incredible achievement in a short space of time. Controlling the combustion process is one of the key technology challenges the industry faces in making hydrogen a real aviation fuel of the future. WE HAVE ACHIEVED THAT, AND IT MAKES US EAGER TO KEEP MOVING FORWARD.”
Johan Lundgren, CEO of easyJet, said: “We believe hydrogen is the future of short-haul aviation, and the success of this test and progress being made demonstrates that this is becoming ever closer. We remain optimistic that it will play a critical role in helping us achieve the ambitious goals we set out in our net zero roadmap.”
Rolls-Royce and easyJet are now preparing to undertake a full ground test on a Pearl engine running on solely liquid hydrogen.
