EasyJet and aerospace group Rolls-Royce have unveiled a partnership called H2Zero to develop jet engines powered by hydrogen.
The budget carrier said it is making a multimillion-pound investment in the initiative which aims to demonstrate that hydrogen has the potential to power planes from the mid-2030s onwards.
Johan Lundgren, chief executive of easyJet, said: “The technology that emerges from this programme has the potential to power easyJet-size aircraft, which is why we will also be making a multimillion-pound investment into this programme.
“In order to achieve decarbonisation at scale, progress on the development of zero emission technology for narrowbody aircraft is crucial.”
The companies will support an early concept ground test of a Rolls-Royce AE2100 engine in the UK later this year. This will be followed by a full-scale ground test of a Rolls-Royce Pearl 15 jet engine.
The agreement follows a research project that both companies began in 2021, developing market analysis, driving specifications, investigating infrastructure and regulatory requirements to support the use of hydrogen in aviation.
Grazia Vittadini, chief technology and strategy officer at Rolls-Royce, said: “H2Zero is a big step forward for Rolls-Royce and we are excited to be working with a partner that shares a desire to innovate and find new answers to aviation’s biggest challenges.
“We at Rolls-Royce want to be ready to pioneer sustainability with whatever the future requires, be it hydrogen, electric power, sustainable aviation fuel, or gas turbine efficiency.”
EasyJet is also one of the major airlines that has signed Letters of Intent with Airbus to explore opportunities for a future supply of carbon removal credits from direct air carbon capture technology.
Direct Air Carbon Capture and Storage (DACCS) is a technology that involves filtering and removing CO2 emissions directly from the air using high-powered fans. Once removed from the air, the CO2 is permanently stored in geologic reservoirs.
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