Alternative fuel at Boeing

According to regulations, civil aviation should be made carbon neutral by 2050, which poses a major challenge for manufacturers. Boeing now sees great progress on the cause by 2030. The future of civil aviation will be largely determined by the extent to which airlines succeed in greening the “operation” of aircraft: that is, not polluting the environment on their journey. In recent years, we have already seen an example of how this can be imagined: with electric planes that are either charged with electricity or refueled with hydrogen, which, when the engine burns, also generates electricity – and water. But in addition to these, there is another method that can help reduce emissions. Recently, for example, researchers at the University of Oxford have made fuel from carbon dioxide, which seems like a very promising technology. Boeing, meanwhile, approached the problem from a different direction.

By 2030, the company would achieve that its aircraft would be refueled with 100 percent sustainable fuel. In this case, this means that it would be produced from raw materials such as vegetable oil, animal fats, various agricultural and forestry wastes, and non-recyclable household wastes. According to the company, this will achieve a 100 percent reduction in CO2 emissions from aircraft. The company already has a plane that flew with 100 percent sustainable fuel: it was one of FedEx’s 777 cargo carriers that also pointed out that it is safe to drive with the new kind of fuel as well. Under current regulations, refueling material must contain half of the conventional and sustainable fuel. Boeing – and other airlines in common – aim to show the authorities that new fuels such as kerosene are no more dangerous.