Battery electric vehicles are too heavy, expensive, and impractical for lorries, ships, aircraft, and construction machinery—so engineers are building hydrogen-burning engines to replace diesel in those machines instead. The problem is that batteries cannot easily power heavy-duty transport or off-road equipment like tractors and excavators. Hydrogen combustion engines offer a zero-carbon alternative that can use existing fuel supply chains and refuelling infrastructure, avoiding the need for a complete overhaul of the energy system. The UK plans to meet 20–35% of its energy needs through hydrogen, but dedicated high-efficiency hydrogen engines do not yet exist at commercial scale. This partnership between Brunel University, AIE, and MAHLE Powertrain will develop two specific technologies: a rotary hydrogen engine for AIE’s customers, and analytical tools for MAHLE’s engineering consultancy business. If successful, the engines could decarbonise vehicles, marine vessels, non-road machinery, and aircraft at lower cost than batteries, while training a new generation of engineers in zero-carbon engine design. The work is applied engineering, not fundamental science—its value lies in turning hydrogen combustion research into commercial products that can accelerate the UK’s net-zero transition.
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The UK Government has set out ambitious net zero target by 2050. Though battery electric vehicles (BEV) can achieve zero carbon emissions locally, there are concerns around high capital cost, limited charging infrastructure, range anxiety, weight, size, and durability of batteries. In particular, they are not suited for heavy vehicles, marine vessels and aviation, as well as non-road mobile machinery (NRMM) for agriculture, mining and construction. To achieve the ambitious net zero targets, alternative net-zero technologies need to be researched, developed, and implemented. The need for green fuels is widely accepted for such applications, with policy efforts in this direction driven by both national and international organisations, for mitigating climate change as well as building energy security. Among green fuels, hydrogen (H2) is recognised by the IEA as the most appropriate energy storage and energy carrier for long-term energy storage and transport. Therefore, many countries, including UK, Europe, US, and Japan, have been exploring the potential of hydrogen and have taken steps towards developing a hydrogen economy. The UK plans to meet an estimated 20—35% of its energy needs through hydrogen. As a zero-carbon fuel, hydrogen can be used in combustion engines. Over the last few years, significant interest and effort have been invested in demonstrating the use of hydrogen in combustion engines for various applications. This Prosperity Partnership provides excellent opportunity to further collaborations between Brunel, AIE and MAHLE Powertrain on developing dedicated ultra-high efficiency and zero emission hydrogen engines. The proposed collaboration will make use of the comprehensive experimental and modelling facilities and capabilities for hydrogen combustion engine research at Brunel University London. It will build on the existing successful collaborations between the University and the two industrial partners. Through this partnership, Brunel will further strengthen its research capacity and capability on hydrogen engines, and deliver social and economic impact by transferring the knowledge into product development and commercialisation by AIE and MAHLE Powertrain. The partnership is of key strategic important to AIE and MAHLE Powertrain, and enables them keep technological advantage against their competitors for sustainable market growth. The proposed collaboration will enable AIE to develop demonstrable H2 rotary engine technology that is now being requested by potential customers and provide MAHLE Powertrain with the analytical tools for their engineering consultancy business. Additionally, the Prosperity Partnership will enable the transfer of advanced material and engineering technologies from automotive piston engines by MAHLE Powertrain to the development of advanced rotary engines by AIE. Furthermore, the prosperity partnership will help to train the next generation of engineers who will be essential for the development of zero-carbon engine technologies by the industrial partners and beyond. Through the close collaborations between Brunel, AIE and MAHLE Powertrain, the developed hydrogen combustion engines will decarbonise vehicles, marine vessels, NRMM and aircrafts at a much lower cost basis and the energy supply infrastructure scales with the existing established supply chain, enabling a faster and more sustainable transition towards net zero.
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