Boeing, Air New Zealand, Rolls-Royce Announce Biofuel Flight Demo

Boeing, Air New Zealand and Rolls-Royce announced a Memorandum of Understanding to conduct a biofuel demonstration flight designed to help accelerate the development of viable and sustainable alternative fuels for commercial aviation uses. Boeing is exploring second-generation biofuel feedstocks and processes that have the potential to reduce greenhouse gases throughout their entire lifecycle.
The demonstration flight is planned for the second half of 2008 using an Air New Zealand Boeing 747-400 equipped with Rolls-Royce engines. Boeing is in discussions with fuel-source providers around the globe to identify potential biofuels that are available in suitable quantities for laboratory and jet-engine performance testing and in compliance with stringent aviation requirements.

Additional details will be announced closer to the actual demonstration flight date.

The Air New Zealand bio-jet fuel demo flight will highlight the suitability of environmentally progressive fuel solutions that differ from traditional biofuel development. Bio-jet fuels will incorporate second-generation methodologies relative to sustainable feedstock source selection and fuel processing, which are uniquely suited for aerospace applications, according to the partners.

Bio-jet fuels can potentially be blended with traditional kerosene fuel (Jet-A) to reduce dependency on petroleum-based fuels. Additionally, sustainable bio-jet feedstock sources avoid deforestation practices and potential competition with global food resources, while helping to lower aviation carbon dioxide outputs.

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