Boeing completes test flight with ‘green diesel’

This Boeing handout photo shows the ecoDemonstrator 787 during flight testing in Seattle, Washington. Boeing announced December 3, 2014 that it completed the first test flight with “green diesel,” which offers potential for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in aviation. AFP / HANDOUT / Boeing / John D. Parker

NEW YORK — Boeing announced Wednesday that it completed the first test flight with “green diesel,” which offers potential for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in aviation.

A Boeing 787 dubbed the ecoDemonstrator successfully flew with 85 percent conventional fuel and 15 percent green diesel, the company said.

The “green” fuel is made from vegetable oils, waste cooking oil and waste animal fats. It has previously been used for ground transportation, but not for aviation.

“Green diesel offers a tremendous opportunity to make sustainable aviation biofuel more available and more affordable for our customers,” said Julie Felgar, a director of environmental strategy at Boeing’s commercial airplane unit.

“We will provide data from several ecoDemonstrator flights to support efforts to approve this fuel for commercial aviation and help meet our industry’s environmental goals.”

Boeing said green diesel could soon supply as much as one percent of global jet fuel demand. The aerospace giant said that with US government incentives, the fuel is near price parity with conventional jet fuel.

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