An airplane engine running on hydrogen

It has been in the news that Rolls-Royce is testing an aircraft engine running on hydrogen, and I think that is generally positive, but what is not positive are the conclusions that some are drawing about the early application of hydrogen in the aeronautics.

Rolls-Royce is one of the largest manufacturers of aeronautical engines, and it is logical that it seeks alternatives to current fossil fuels, since it is very interested in maintaining its business in the future.

The good part of hydrogen is that its combustion does not pollute (it does not produce CO2), and the bad part is that its caloric value is less than the fuels currently used, and therefore much more fuel is needed (up to four times more).

And another big drawback is that liquid hydrogen must be kept at -253 ºC (a tank like this is very expensive), and before being used to fuel the engine, it must be turned into a gaseous state, which is another added process.

Bottom line: It’s very unlikely that we’ll see a large airplane flying on hydrogen anytime soon.

Even though this is not an obstacle to investigate and make tests with the use of hydrogen. But please let no one convey that this can happen in a short time, since we are tens of years away from having a solution with hydrogen.

What has been proven to work are SAF fuels (ecological type), but here the problem is that they are produced in very few quantities and their cost is high compared to current kerosene. Although if you bet seriously on them, their price would drop significantly.

Perhaps we have to consider that flying is expensive (if it is done in a non-polluting way), and convince ourselves that planes are to be used in very exceptional cases and not for pleasure trips.

If we do not change our way of thinking and living, we are headed for an ecological disaster with consequences that are difficult to foresee. And unfortunately that is what is going to happen.