Testing the World's First Hydrogen-Powered Jet Engine

­Rolls-Royce and easyJet, a European-based airline, have taken an incremental step in decarbonizing one of the last, great fossil fuel industries.

That industry is aviation, and because of the relative efficiency of jet fuel, and practical factors limiting the full electrification of the sector, it still has an unquenchable thirst for fossil fuels, even as other industries – like automotive – set deadlines to go carbon-neutral.

Rolls-Royce and easyJet made the announcement last Tuesday – the pair tested zero carbon, hydrogen-based aviation fuel on an early concept demonstrator using green hydrogen created by wind and tidal power, supposedly a world’s first.

The fact that the hydrogen was produced via zero-carbon means was news enough – hydrogen created with fossil fuels is known as “gray” or “blue” hydrogen, while the sort that relies on renewable sources (like this test) is known as “green” hydrogen.

Course, we’re still a long way from commercial viability – while hydrogen produces water vapor (vs. carbon dioxide), it’s also extremely expensive, and it introduces all sorts of logistics problems.

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, hydrogen “requires high pressures, low temperatures, or chemical processes to be stored compactly.” And it’s very inefficient, at that.

As the Guardian points out, “a Boeing 747 jumbo jet requires more than 1 million liters of hydrogen to travel the same distance as 250,000 liters of jet fuel.”

An EU reports claims that hydrogen could enter the aero market in 2035, and both Rolls-Royce and easyJet are adhering to the widely-accepted 2050 deadline to go carbon-neutral, but tons of work remains.

Then again, with aviation responsible for up to 5% of global greenhouse gas emissions, there’s few industries more deserving of a renewable energy revolution.

“We are pushing the boundaries to discover the zero carbon possibilities of hydrogen, which could help reshape the future of flight,” said Rolls-Royce Chief Technology Officer Grazia Vittadini.