easyJet and Rolls-Royce have today announced the successful completion of a major testing milestone using hydrogen as an aviation fuel, marking a significant step in efforts to reduce aviation emissions.

In an industry first, the companies tested a modified Rolls-Royce Pearl 15 aircraft engine reaching full take off power while running on 100% hydrogen, at NASA’s Stennis Space Center, near Bay St. Louis Mississippi.

The significant milestone is the result of a four-year programme between Rolls-Royce, easyJet and global partners to explore hydrogen as a potential aviation fuel and generate engineering insight for future propulsion applications. easyJet has played a central role in supporting the development of hydrogen gas turbine technology as part of its long-term decarbonisation ambitions. Rolls-Royce’s expanded partnership with TCS helped accelerate progress towards its technology goals by adding capability and capacity across critical engineering workstreams.

During this phase of the testing programme, engineers demonstrated that a modern jet engine, scalable to power a narrowbody aircraft, can safely operate on gaseous hydrogen across a fully simulated flight cycle, including start-up, take-off, cruise and landing.

The Rolls-Royce programme followed an incremental, technology-led approach to prove the fundamental technologies. Progressing from early engine testing at Boscombe Down in the UK in 2022, the technology was scaled and further developed through a UK and European programme of component and system rig tests, including the development of a full-scale hydrogen test facility at the HSE, before moving to full integration into a hydrogen fuelled demonstrator engine. Earlier modifications also focused on adapting the engine to replace traditional jet fuel with hydrogen while considering both carbon and non-CO2 impacts through an expansive combustion programme.

The programme has delivered valuable insights into hydrogen combustion, fuel systems and engine integration, supporting the potential for future hydrogen-powered aircraft to help significantly reduce carbon emissions across European and UK aviation while complementing Sustainable Aviation Fuel to support future growth - as reinforced by research published in the report Enabling Hydrogen in the European Aviation Market.

David Morgan, Chief Operating Officer at easyJet, said:

“This industry-first is a real testament to the progress our partnership with Rolls-Royce has achieved, taking hydrogen from early concept through to full engine build and successful testing in just a few years.

“Demonstrating 100% hydrogen operation at scale is a significant milestone and marks an important step towards easyJet’s net zero ambition, supporting the long-term transition to more sustainable aviation.”

Adam Newman, Chief Engineer, Hydrogen Demonstrator Programme, Rolls-Royce, commented:

“This programme has given us the clearest understanding in the industry of how hydrogen behaves in a modern aero gas turbine. Through a collaborative, staged testing approach, we have validated combustion, fuel and control system technologies, and demonstrated the safe use of hydrogen through design, commissioning, maintenance and testing.

“We have explored a wide range of operating conditions, including fault scenarios, enabling operation at maximum power and across a full flight cycle. The pace of delivery has been critical, and the insights gained, many of which are fuel agnostic, will now be applied across our future programmes, including UltraFan®, strengthening our confidence that the gas turbine will remain at the forefront of sustainable aviation’s future.”

Anupam Singhal, President – Manufacturing, Tata Consultancy Services said:

This milestone reflects what becomes possible when advanced engineering is combined with digital capabilities and deep ecosystem collaboration to move breakthrough innovation closer to real-world. At TCS, we are proud to support Rolls-Royce in accelerating hydrogen propulsion through integrated engineering, systems, and software expertise.

This achievement marks a significant step forward—demonstrating not just the viability of hydrogen, but the industry’s readiness to translate ambition into execution.

Dr Nigel Moss, Aerospace Sector Manager at the Health and Safety Executive’s Science and Research Centre in the UK, commented:

"Over two decades our science and research centre of excellence has developed world-leading expertise in the safe handling of hydrogen, and our work on this project involved building and testing the pressurised hydrogen infrastructure to meet challenging safety and performance requirements. As always with the aerospace sector, safety was front-and-centre during this ground-breaking work.”

Christine Powell, NASA Stennis Acting Centre Director, said:

“NASA Stennis has proven to be a go-to location that enables industry to execute specialized testing that their mission requires. This milestone is a great example of how our infrastructure and expertise can be leveraged to advance future technologies and solve broader challenges.”

Notes to Editor

Hydrogen programme

The testing programme at NASA Stennis represents the culmination of a comprehensive, global program that set out to prove that hydrogen can safely and efficiently deliver power for aerospace engines.

In 2022, easyJet and Rolls-Royce set a world first by successfully running a modern aero engine, the Rolls-Royce AE2100, on 100% green hydrogen at Boscombe Down, UK.

In 2023, Rolls-Royce set another world first when tests on a full annular combustor of a Rolls-Royce Pearl engine at the German Aerospace Centre (DLR) in Cologne, Germany, running on 100% hydrogen proved the fuel can be combusted at conditions that represent maximum take-off thrust.

Together, easyJet and Rolls-Royce are committed to being at the forefront of the development of sustainable technologies capable of powering a range of aircraft, including those in the narrowbody market segment.

Rolls-Royce has also received support for hydrogen research through the UK’s Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI) HyEST, RACHEL and LH2GT programmes, Germany’s LUFO 6 WOTAN programme, and the CAVENDISH program supported by InnovateUK and European Union’s Clean Aviation.

About easyJet

Since becoming the first short haul airline to launch a Roadmap to Net Zero by 2050, easyJet continues its ambition to decarbonise and reduce its environmental impact. This is through a combination of investment in modern fuel efficient A320neo family aircraft, sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and the development of future zero carbon flight technologies, alongside operational efficiencies, to lower its impact both in the air and on the ground.

easyJet is one of Europe’s largest airlines offering a unique and winning combination of the best route network connecting Europe's primary airports with great value fares and friendly service. easyJet flies on more of Europe’s most popular routes than any other airline and carried more than 100 million passengers in 2024. The airline has over 350 aircraft flying on over 1,000 routes to more than 160 airports across 35 countries. Over 300 million Europeans live within one hour's drive of an easyJet airport.

easyJet aims to be a good corporate citizen, employing people on local contracts in nine countries across Europe in full compliance with national laws and recognising their trade unions. The airline supports several local charities and has a corporate partnership with UNICEF which has raised over £17m for the most vulnerable children since it was established in 2012.

In 2022, easyJet published its roadmap to net zero by 2050. The roadmap, which also features a combination of fleet renewal, operational efficiencies, airspace modernisation, Sustainable Aviation Fuel and carbon removal technology, has set an ambitious interim carbon emissions intensity reduction target of 35% by 2035, validated by the Science-based targets initiative (SBTi). The airline’s ultimate aim is to fully transition its fleet to zero carbon emission technology, which it will achieve through a number of strategic partnerships including with Airbus, Rolls-Royce and GKN Aerospace Solutions. Since 2000, the airline has successfully reduced its carbon emissions per passenger, per kilometre by one-third and is the number 1 ESG rated airline in Europe by Sustainalytics, MSCI and CDP.

Innovation is in easyJet’s DNA – since launching 30 years ago, easyJet changed the way people fly to the present day where the airline leads the industry in digital and operational innovations to make travel more easy and affordable for its passengers. In 2023 easyJet was named by TIME as one of the World’s Best Companies and a Leader in Diversity 2024 by The Financial Times.

About Rolls-Royce

Rolls-Royce is a force for progress; powering, protecting and connecting people everywhere. Its products and service packages help customers meet the growing need for power across multiple industries; enable governments to equip their armed forces with the power required to protect their citizens; and connect people, societies, cultures and economies together.

Rolls-Royce has a local presence in 47 countries and customers in over a hundred more, including airlines and aircraft leasing companies, armed forces and navies, and marine and industrial customers.

Through its multi-year transformation programme, Rolls-Royce is building a high-performing, competitive, resilient and growing business. It is building the financial capacity and agility to allow it to successfully develop and deliver the products that will support customers through the energy transition.

About NASA Stennis

NASA’s Stennis Space Center, located near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, is the nation’s largest propulsion test site and a federal city operated by NASA since 1961. NASA and more than 50 federal, state, academic, public, and private aerospace, technology, and research organizations located onsite share in operating costs, which allows tenants to direct more of their money to individual missions. If their combined workforces of more than 5,200 employees were counted as a single entity, Stennis would rank among the Top 10 Mississippi companies in size. The Stennis federal city is a major economic engine for the Gulf Coast region, with an average direct annual impact of more than $846 million within a 50-mile radius.

About Tata Consultancy Services (TCS)

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) (BSE: 532540, NSE: TCS) is a digital transformation and technology partner of choice for industry-leading organizations worldwide. Since its inception in 1968, TCS has upheld the highest standards of innovation, engineering excellence and customer service.

Rooted in the heritage of the Tata Group, TCS is focused on creating long term value for its clients, its investors, its employees, and the community at large. With a highly skilled workforce of 580,000 spread across 55 countries and 202 service delivery centers across the world, the company has been recognized as a top employer in six continents. With the ability to rapidly apply and scale new technologies, the company has built long term partnerships with its clients – helping them emerge as perpetually adaptive enterprises. Many of these relationships have endured into decades and navigated every technology cycle, from mainframes in the 1970s to Artificial Intelligence today.

TCS sponsors 14 of the world’s most prestigious marathons and endurance events, including the TCS New York City Marathon, TCS London Marathon and TCS Sydney Marathon with a focus on promoting health, sustainability, and community empowerment.

TCS generated consolidated revenues of over US $30 billion in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2026. For more information, visit www.tcs.com.

About HSE

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is Britain's national regulator for workplace health and safety, dedicated to protecting people and places and helping everyone lead safer and healthier lives.

HSE's Science and Research Centre in Buxton, Derbyshire is a world-leading centre for applied science, engineering and analysis, with over 20 years of expertise in hydrogen research across multiple sectors including aerospace, energy and transport. HSE's commercial science division works in partnership with industry to enable innovation to proceed safely and at pace, supporting the UK's transition to net zero and the Government's growth agenda. HSE's goal-setting regulatory approach gives businesses the flexibility to innovate while maintaining the safety standards that underpin public confidence and investment.

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