Following the news that Rolls-Royce and EasyJet have successfully conducted a ground test of a hydrogen powered aircraft engine;

Harry Boneham, Aerospace Analyst at GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company, offers his view:

“The development is obviously good news for Rolls-Royce as it continues to forge ahead on zero-emission aircraft propulsion development. It’s likely that a future commercial aviation market will be defined by sustainability concerns as consumer expectations and government regulation continues to grow. Rolls-Royce is taking a leading roll in the development of technologies that will be required to reach ambitious environmental targets such as net-zero emissions from commercial aviation by 2050.

“The test was conducted on a converted Rolls-Royce AE 2100-A regional aircraft engine. Now that the technology has been tested successfully, it’s likely that Rolls-Royce will look to conduct further tests on larger, more powerful engines, allowing the firm to target a greater segment of the commercial aircraft engine market.

“The news that the hydrogen used in this test was derived from green sources–wind and tidal power–is a further success and demonstrates that hydrogen propulsion can be a credible solution for aircraft original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) looking to improve sustainability performance across their entire supply chains. It’s likely that as zero-emission propulsion technologies such as hydrogen and all-electric aircraft reach maturity in the coming decade, scrutiny regarding ‘green-washing’ will mount. In order to prevent reputational damage in this area, manufacturers must consider emissions throughout supply chains and not just during flight.”