Seattle, Sept. 28 (BNA): Boeing showcased efforts to boost efficiency in its planes Monday, a week after rival Airbus held a similar conference, as global aviation faces mounting political pressure to cut emissions and demands from environmental groups for restrictions on planes. Air travel.
The US aircraft maker is one of several companies in the industry making efforts to make its products more environmentally friendly, although there is debate over how quickly the new technology will be adopted, Reuters reports.
The Boeing event was anchored in the flight test hangar in Seattle by an Alaskan 737 Max 9 model with potential upgrades such as a warning light to reduce drag and cabin side walls made of recycled carbon fiber.
“Many of the improvements we’ve made come with a lot of little things all at once,” Mike Sennett, Boeing’s vice president of product development, told Boeing employees, industry and government officials, and media outlets gathered inside the building.
The industry says aviation produces up to 3% of human-made carbon dioxide emissions and 12% of carbon dioxide from transportation. It has pledged to reduce net carbon emissions to 50% of 2005 levels by 2050.
Last year, European Airbus announced plans to develop hydrogen-powered aircraft from 2035.
On the contrary, Boeing has emphasized the expanded use of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), which is made from feedstocks such as used cooking oil and animal fats, although it does not rule out technological leaps for generations.
“The focus on the Sudanese Armed Forces is really important because there are thousands of planes already flying. The planes that will come into service over the next 10 years have already been designed and these engines certified,” Sennett later told reporters.
“In order to have any meaningful impact, we will have to … expand the use of sustainable fuels,” he said, describing hydrogen and other technologies as a “long-term game.”
Boeing has promised that its fleet will fly on 100% sustainable aviation fuel by 2030.
SAF currently accounts for only a small amount of total aviation fuel use and jet engines are currently certified to run on up to 50% fuel.
To illustrate the scale of the challenge facing the industry, in 2020 the world’s two largest aircraft manufacturers delivered jet aircraft estimated to be responsible for total emissions equivalent to 600 million tons of carbon dioxide over their lifetime, a number that has reduced deliveries during the coronavirus pandemic.
A person familiar with the plan said the Boeing 737 MAX 9 Eco Demonstrator, the latest configuration in a decade-old test program, is due to fly to Glasgow ahead of the United Nations climate change conference in November.
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