Status of the hydrogen engine test.

Kawasaki Heavy Industries has successfully conducted operational tests on a small aircraft engine running on 100% hydrogen fuel as part of the "Core Technology Development for Hydrogen Aircraft" project, adopted under the NEDO's Green Innovation Fund Project/Next Generation Aircraft Development Project.

This project aims to develop hydrogen combustion technology for hydrogen aircraft engines. In this test, newly developed hydrogen combustion chambers for use with hydrogen fuel were installed on the company's existing small aircraft engines that were originally designed for conventional fuel. The test involved successful hydrogen combustion operations, from ignition with hydrogen-only fuel to rotation, steady operation, rotation descent, and shutdown, confirming the engine's stable performance at the JAXA Noshiro Rocket Test Center in Akita Prefecture.

This test was conducted as part of the "Hydrogen Aircraft Engine Combustor and System Technology Development" project, one of the three development items initiated from 2021. Progress is also being made on the remaining two development items: "Development of Liquid Hydrogen Fuel Storage Tanks" and "Consideration of Hydrogen Aircraft Body Structure." The successful outcome of this test, together with the progress on the other items, will advance the core technology development of hydrogen aircraft body and engine, with plans to conduct ground demonstration tests in 2030 as part of a system integrating the core technologies developed over a 10-year period from 2021.

By combining expertise and experience from different fields such as aircraft and hydrogen-related products, our company is not only contributing to the core technology development of hydrogen aircraft for CO2 reduction in aviation but also promoting hydrogen businesses such as the commercialization demonstration of the liquid hydrogen supply chain, aiming to contribute to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.