FutureFlight
Rolls-Royce Invests in Electrolyzer To Produce Hydrogen Aviation Fuel
The aircraft engine maker says it sees hydrogen as "the fuel of the future" and wants to be involved in its production as part of longer-term plans to move aviation away from fossil-fuel dependence.
Rolls-Royce Power Systems executives have agreed to buy a majority stake in electrolysis specialist Hoeller Electrolyzer.
(From left) Otto Preiss and Armin Fürderer of Rolls-Royce Power Systems, and Matthias Kramer and Stefan Höller of the Hoeller Electrolyzer company pose with a Hoeller electrolyzer stack. (Image: Rolls-Royce)

Rolls-Royce this week announced a significant investment in hydrogen electrolysis technology to support plans for its new Mtu range of electrolyzers to generate hydrogen, which the aircraft engine maker says is “the fuel of the future.” While hydrogen is viewed as an increasingly promising alternative to fossil fuels for air transport, its use poses significant infrastructure challenges. 

The group’s Power Systems division is acquiring a 54 percent majority stake in Hoeller Electrolyzer, a German company that is already developing an electrolyzer under the brand name Prometheus that it says will provide a cost-effective method of producing hydrogen. Hoeller Electrolyzer’s Prometheus stack will form the basis of Rolls-Royce’s Mtu electrolysis systems.