Boeing flexed its environmental muscles at the show yesterday as it unveiled its ecoDemonstrator programme, which is designed to increase the pace with which emerging green technologies for aviation come to the fore.
Boeing is delivering the flight-test portion of the programme and will begin testing emerging environmental technologies on board a 737 in 2012. Further tests will be carried out on board a twin-aisle aircraft in 2013. Technologies will be tested in the areas of fuel efficiency, noise reduction and operational efficiency.
The programme is being partly funded by the US Federal Aviation Administration's continuous lower energy emissions noise (CLEEN) programme. Boeing Commercial Airplanes managing director of environmental strategies Billy Glover says the manufacturer will "select collaborations over the next year or so", adding that some of the technology used on the test flights "will be used in the development of new aircraft over the next few years".
Glover says the best type of biofuel depends on the region in which it is being produced. "What's best for one location is not necessarily best for another," he says, adding that there are "going to be a lot more choices" in the future as new feedstocks and new processing techniques emerge.
- All the latest news, video and images from the 2010 Farnborough air show - New this year, live streaming video of each day's flying display
Source: Flight Daily News
