In a bid to further accelerate innovation for sustainability and safety, Boeing is expanding its ecoDemonstrator flight-test programme. For 2023, the company will assess 19 technologies on its 777 ecoDemonstrator, while its first ecoDemonstrator Explorer, a 787-10 Dreamliner, will focus tests on specific technologies.
Approximately a third of the technologies tested as part of the programme have progressed onto the airframer’s products and services.
Stan Deal, President and CEO, Boeing Commercial Airplanes, said, “We continue to invest in innovation that reduces fuel use, emissions and noise on our products and to partner with Governments and industry to make progress on sustainability during each phase of flight.”
In June, ecoDemonstrator Explorer will conduct flight tests from Seattle to Tokyo, Singapore and Bangkok to demonstrate how coordinating navigation across global airspace jurisdictions can improve operational efficiency, reducing an airplane's fuel use and emissions by up to 10%. The jetliner will also fly on each location's highest available blend of Sustainable Aviation fuel (SAF).
“The industry will need continued fleet renewal, efficiency gains, renewable energy carriers such as sustainable aviation fuel and advanced technology to meet the civil aviation industry's commitment to achieve net zero carbon emission by 2050,” said Boeing Chief Sustainability Officer Chris Raymond.
The airframer will also use its current flagship ecoDemonstrator airplane, a 777-200ER (Extended Range), to test sustainable wall panels in the cargo hold made of 40% recycled carbon fibre and 60% resin made from bio-based feedstock. A new fibre optic fuel quantity sensor compatible with 100% SAF and an Electronic Flight Bag application featuring Smart Airport Maps, a component of Jeppesen FliteDeck Pro, which reduces operational costs and supports safe taxi operations with the depiction of contextual airport data.
Boeing’s ecoDemonstrator programme, which began its initial flight tests in 2012, has accelerated innovation by taking new technologies out of the lab and testing them in an operational environment.
The ecoDemonstrator programme will test about 250 technologies to help decarbonise aviation, improve operational efficiency and enhance safety and the passenger experience.
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