Hydrogen Engine Architecture Virtually Engineered Novelly

Decarbonizing aviation is essential to combating climate change, and achieving climate-neutral air travel will require using alternative fuels like Green Hydrogen and Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), along with highly efficient gas turbine engines. This is especially crucial for the Small and Medium Range (SMR) market, which makes up about 50% of current aviation emissions. Rolls-Royce, with support from key academic and industry partners in the UK and Europe, has been working on a next-generation engine design called UltraFan®, first developed in 2014. This engine, featuring a high bypass ratio geared design, is scalable to serve both large and small aircraft markets.

To reduce fuel consumption by 20%, Rolls-Royce is evolving the UltraFan design into the UltraFan H2, which will use net-zero carbon fuels like hydrogen to improve gas turbine efficiency. The project, part of wider European and national programs like the CAVENDISH (HRA-01) and HE-ART (HER-01) initiatives, aims to validate this design up to Technology Readiness Level 6 (TRL6) with a goal of bringing it into service by 2035. In collaboration with a specialized consortium and insights from easyJet, the project will help shape the future of sustainable aviation