Boeing Tests World’s First Biofueled Hydroplane

Boating history was made this week when Boeing’s U-787 unlimited hydroplane gave its first demonstration run with driver Chip Hanauer at the yearly Chevrolet Cup at Seafair.

The model is the world’s first boat to be powered solely by biofuel. Amazingly no modifications were necessary to adapt the hydroplane or its engines to be able to use biofuel as an alternative to petrol. The hydroplane allows for either petrol based fuel or biofuel to be pumped directly into its gas reserves.

Targeted Growth supplied the biofuel which consisted of 85% camelina, a crop that is becoming increasingly popular as a new source for biofuel. The other 15% of the mixture included jatropha, which was about 14% of the fuel, and algae oil, which only accounted for 1% but is becoming more and more popular as an alternative fuel source. The same mixture, produced by Targeted Growth was used to fuel a test flight for Japan Airlines Boeing 747 back in January of this year.

Four test runs were successfully demonstrated at the seafair last weekend, each using more amounts of biofuel as the weekend progressed finally ending in Sunday’s 100% biofuel test drive. The tests were conducted using standard conditions such as sharp accelerations, quick stops, and turning into and out of a plethora of different water conditions.

The boat’s engine mirrors the same fuel and performance standards as a commercial standard airliner. The boat is the world’s first completely biofuel powered vehicle of its kind, and marks a huge step for biofuel progress. Replacing boats with biofuel as an alternative to petrol would mark an industry success for sustainable energy.