washington business
Of Note
Boeing, Alaska Airlines and Port of Seattle Teaming Up
on Biofuel Research, Development
Janicki Bioenergy’s ‘Water from Waste’ Invention
Recognized as One of Top 2015 Innovations
Building on the state’s history of tackling carbon emissions and environmental protection, Boeing, Alaska Airlines and the Port of Seattle
will take on the task of researching and testing how to power flights
with sustainable aviation biofuel.
The collaboration was announced last December. It will be funded by the Port of Seattle with a $250,000 investment to assess the
costs and infrastructure needed to deliver biofuel, along with conventional aviation fuel, to Sea-Tac International Airport.
“It is not easy to develop an entirely new fuel supply for aviation, but we are committed to do this on a global basis, and first in
the Puget Sound,” Sheila Remes, Boeing Commercial Airplanes vice
president of strategy, said during a news conference. She added that
the use of sustainable biofuels could reduce airplane carbon emissions by 50 percent per gallon.
Boeing, alongside other airline partners, has been testing biofuels
since 2008, having conducted the first commercial aviation flight
using a mix of biofuels and traditional fuel that year.
Alaska Airlines, as a partner with Washington State Universityled Northwest Advanced Renewables Alliance, plan