easyJet has partnered with GKN Aerospace in support of the company’s Hydrogen Combustion (H2JET) and Hydrogen Fuel Cell (H2GEAR) technology. The goal of the partnership is to accelerate adoption of hydrogen powered propulsion in aviation.
On Thursday (April 28, 2022), easyJet announced a new partnership with GKN Aerospace, the world’s leading multi-technology tier one aerospace supplier, to accelerate the adoption of hydrogen energy technologies. As part of the partnership, easyJet will support the development of GKN Aerospace’s Hydrogen Combustion (H2JET) and Hydrogen Fuel Cell (H2Gear) technology, including options for exploring flight demonstrations, as part of easyJet’s goal to de-carbonize aviation. Additionally, the carrier will provide deep insight into the operational and economic requirements of the technology for commercial aviation.
In today’s announcment, easyJet’s Director of Flight Operations, David Morgan, said,
“At easyJet, we are committed to working towards a future with zero carbon emission flying. We know that technology is a key driver to achieve our decarbonisation targets, with hydrogen propulsion a frontrunner for short-haul airlines like easyJet. Cross-industry partnerships are key to developing these promising new technologies and we look forward to collaborating with GKN Aerospace to support bringing this technology to maturity as early as possible.”
Also commenting on the new partnership, GKN Aerospace’s Vice President of Technology, Max Brown, said,
“At GKN Aerospace sustainability is at the heart of our business. Hydrogen-powered aircraft offer a clear route to keep the world connected, with dramatically cleaner skies. The UK is at the forefront of this technology. We look forward to work with easyJet and our partners, to develop and industrialise the breakthrough technology to fly aircraft with zero CO2 emissions.”
GKN Aerospace’s H2GEAR program is a ground-breaking UK collaboration aiming to develop a liquid hydrogen propulsion system for a sub-regional aircraft, which could then be scaled to larger aircraft. The liquid hydrogen is converted to electricity in a fuel-cell system and then used to power the aircraft without emissions. The program is supported by £27 million of ATI funding matched by GKN Aerospace and their industrial partners. The H2Jet program is a two year Swedish collaboration led by GKN Aerospace advancing the development of key subsystems for gas turbine based hydrogen propulsion for medium-range commercial aircraft.
easyJet is also working with Airbus, Rolls-Royce, Cranfield Aerospace Solutions and Wright Electric in the race for net-zero carbon emissions. The carrier believes they could begin flying customers on aircraft powered by hydrogen-combustion, hydrogen-electric, or a hybrid of both technologies by the mid to late 2030s. Last November, easyJet joined the UN-backed Race to Zero initiative, which sets an interim target for 2035 and of reaching net-zero emissions by 2050. In 2019, easyJet became the first major airline worldwide to offset all carbon emissions from flight operations, at no additional cost to customers, and remains the only European airline to do so.
Source: easyJet
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