Sustainability and Environment
Rolls-Royce Runs Pearl 700 on Hydrogen Fuel
The aero engines group has also tested a new small gas turbine intended for hybrid-electric powertrains
Rolls-Royce prepares to test hydrogen fuel burn with Pearl 700 engine
Propulsion engineers at the UK's Loughborough University prepare to test new fuel spray nozzles as part of ground trials that ran a Pearl 700 business jet engine on hydrogen fuel. (Image: Rolls-Royce)

Rolls-Royce and its partners have run a Pearl 700 business aircraft engine on 100 percent hydrogen fuel as part of longer-term work to develop a hydrogen combustion engine for narrowbody airliners by the mid-2030s. Working with the UK’s Loughborough University and German aerospace research agency DLR, the aero engines group said tests on a full annular combustor proved that hydrogen can produce maximum takeoff thrust.

According to Rolls-Royce, the breakthrough is based on new fuel spray nozzles that control the combustion process. “This involved overcoming significant engineering challenges as hydrogen burns far hotter and more rapidly than kerosene,” the company explained in a statement issued on September 25. “The new nozzles were able to control the flame position using a system that progressively mixes air with the hydrogen to maximize the fuel’s reactivity.”

In this article