Boeing’s ecoDemonstrator 757 has made its first flight with U.S.-made “green diesel,” expanding the testing and use of technologies to improve aviation’s environmental performance, the company said Friday.

The U.S. aircraft manufacturer said the 757 flew on June 17 from Seattle to NASA‘s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va.

The aircraft used a blend of 95 per cent petroleum jet fuel and five per cent sustainable green diesel, a biofuel used in ground transportation, it said. Green diesel is a different fuel product than “biodiesel.”

Two new environment-related technologies were also used in the flight:

• Solar and thermal energy harvesting to power electronic windows, as a way to reduce wiring, weight, fuel use and carbon emissions.

• On the 757’s flight deck, Boeing has installed a 3D-printed aisle stand made from excess carbon fibre from 787 production to reduce airplane weight and factory waste.

“With the ecoDemonstrator, Boeing looks to reduce environmental impact through the airplane’s lifecycle, from improving fuel efficiency and cutting carbon emissions to recycling production materials,” said Mike Sinnett, vice-president, product development at Boeing Commercial Airplanes.

“In addition to our new technologies, flying the ecoDemonstrator 757 with U.S.-made green diesel is another positive step toward reducing our industry’s use of fossil fuel.”

Boeing said NASA and the TUI Group of Germany, the world’s largest integrated tourism company, were collaborating on the tests.

The ecoDemonstrator 787 made the first-ever flights with green diesel last December.

Since it was launched in 2011, the ecoDemonstrator Program has tested more than 50 technologies, with 737, 787 and 757 aircraft, Boeing said.

Boeing’s global initiatives to advance development of a sustainable aviation biofuel include a project in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, where it has partnered with the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology.

Images are courtesy of Boeing and TUI Group.