Sustainable Aviation – A combustion perspective

Authors

Kenneth Young FIMechE - Rolls Royce plc

Abstract

The drive to sustainability in all sectors is clear and urgent and civil aerospace is no exception. Rolls Royce is playing a leading role in introducing and validating both sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and Hydrogen. In this lecture, the overall strategy and ambition of Rolls Royce with regard to sustainability will be covered followed by an explanation of what that means for the combustion section. The talk will cover the strategy and validation programmes for both SAF and Hydrogen and include a deeper dive into Hydrogen. The differences and commonalities between aviation and industrial gas turbine hydrogen combustion will be discussed with the purpose of answering one central question “What will an aerospace hydrogen combustion sub-system look like?”. In answering the question, the results of a recent Hydrogen engine test campaign will be presented and discussed.