Hydrogen updates from Universal and Rolls-Royce

This week has seen some updates about hydrogen and hybrid-electric from Universal Hydrogen and Rolls-Royce, with the two companies announcing the technical and commercial progress of their programs. Universal Hydrogen said on Tuesday that its order book has cleared “well North of $1.0 billion”, thanks to an unnamed customer that ordered hydrogen conversion kits for regional aircraft. The company has now received orders for 250 kits that will be installed on the ATR 72, which is the aircraft type for which the system will be certified and should enter service in 2026. The Universal kit consists of replaceable modules for liquid hydrogen that are positioned aft in the fuselage, hydrogen-electric fuel cells to convert the hydrogen into electricity, and two magniX electromotors that replace the gas turbine engines. Universal says that its order book consists of letters of intent. Chief Commercial Officer Rod Williams said that for nearly half of them, customers have paid deposits or cancelation penalties. “The company is currently definitizing agreements with its launch customers, including securing firm hydrogen offtake agreements and guaranteed hydrogen pricing that is expected to deliver equivalent or superior unit economics to airlines and passengers,” Universal said in a media statement. The US start-up has resumed its flight test program this week with the De Havilland Canada Dash 8-300. In June, the aircraft was ferried from Moses Lake to its new home base in the Mojave desert in California. On Tuesday, the Dash 8 was airborne again and did a 20-minute flight out of Mojave Air & Space Port that reached 5.000 feet of altitude. So far, the aircraft has completed ten test flights, but will now start the two-year test and certification phase that will see it fly to 25.000 feet using two hydrogen powertrains. Earlier in September, Universal said that the FAA has accepted the application of the Supplemental Type Certificate for the conversion of ATR 72 aircraft. The regulator has issued the so-called G1 Issue Paper, which is the first of four steps that needs to be completed. Rolls-Royce successfully completed tests with the new small gas turbine, which is part of the turbogenerator for future eVTOLs and small aircraft. (Rolls-Royce) Rolls-Royce In Europe, Rolls-Royce reported that it has successfully tested hydrogen on a full annular combustor of a Pearl 700 business jet engine. The test was done at facilities of the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in Cologne (Germany) in close cooperation with Loughborough University. For the direct burn of hydrogen, the fuel spray nozzles were modified, as hydrogen has very different characteristics from traditional kerosene. Hydrogen burns hotter and quicker and controlling the flame is more difficult, but the modified nozzle demonstrated that combustion could be controlled as planned. The test, for which a date wasn’t given, is part of the wider collaboration on hydrogen between Loughborough University, DLR, and UK airline easyJet. The airline is very much interested in hydrogen technology and has recently repeated that it would like to be the launch operator of a hydrogen-electric when that becomes available. During a pre-Paris Airshow media visit to Rolls-Royce Dahlewitz near Berlin, the company already said that it was preparing the test for the Pearl 700. The next step is to test gaseous hydrogen on a complete Pearl engine during ground tests, which will be followed by liquid hydrogen. Last year, Rolls-Royce demonstrated the direct burning of hydrogen on an AE2100 engine. Gas turbine test On Wednesday, Rolls-Royce said that it has successfully completed another test: that of the small gas turbine that will be a part of the new turbogenerator for Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) vehicles. The gas turbine is one element of the system and drives a generator. This can produce 500 to 1.200 kW of electricity to power the electromotors of an eVTOL aircraft or small hybrid-electric regional aircraft for up to nineteen seats. The test was completed in Dahlewitz, where Rolls-Royce showed media the gas turbine in June. “The first tests helped the team to develop highly relevant knowledge and generate real data to verify key technical attributes of the design. This will allow for design adaptations for the next set of testing, ultimately pushing towards the maturity of a certified engine with world-class performance for this new market segment,” Rolls-Royce says.

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