Avio announced that it had begun the development of its Multi-Purpose Green Engine (MPGE) in March 2023, when it received a €55 million PNRR (National Recovery and Resilience Plan) grant from the Italian Space Agency (ASI). The engine runs on hydrogen peroxide and kerosene.
In a 24th February update, Avio announced that it had completed the first ignition tests of the MPGE on a purpose-built test bench. According to the company, the engine performed as expected and achieved combustion efficiency that exceeded expectations.
In its original 2023 announcement, Avio stated that the engine would be used aboard a yet-to-be-introduced Vega orbital stage and the Space Rider reusable spacecraft, developed by Avio in partnership with Thales Alenia Space under a European Space Agency contract, among other applications. In its most recent update, the company stated that it would be used for “both launch systems and orbital and suborbital space applications.”