XB1 Boom
The XB-1 demonstrator aircraft is expected for launch in mid-2020. Credit: Boom Technology, Inc.

Commercial aeroplane manufacturer Boom Supersonic has committed to making its XB-1 test programme fully carbon neutral.

Boom’s XB-1 is a supersonic demonstrator aircraft designed to validate crucial in-flight technologies for safe, efficient and sustainable supersonic travel.

The commitment covers all ground and flight testing over the lifetime of the XB-1 programme.

The company will be leveraging sustainable aviation fuels and carbon offsetting.

Boom founder and CEO Blake Scholl said: “Since Boom’s founding, we’ve been on a mission to make the world dramatically more accessible through supersonic travel.

“With our commitment to a carbon-neutral XB-1 test programme, we’re laying the groundwork for a sustainable supersonic future with Overture.”

Boom is nearing the completion of its XB-1 demonstrator.

The XB-1 test programme will allow the company to refine the design and engineering of its supersonic commercial airliner Overture.

The aircraft is scheduled for launch later this year.

Last October, Boom formed an environmental and sustainability team headed by Raymond Russell.

Russell and his team manage Boom’s sustainability partnerships and initiatives, including new opportunities for sustainability in aircraft design, sustainable aviation fuels, flight routing, and carbon offsetting.

Last June, the company partnered with sustainable fuel provider Prometheus Fuels to supply carbon-neutral jet fuel for the programme.

The company used sustainable aviation fuels to operate XB-1 engines in January 2019.

Russell said: “As a new entrant in aerospace, Boom is making sustainability a core tenet of our aircraft development programme.

“Thanks to today’s technology, supersonic travel is economically viable, and we are proud to ensure that it’s environmentally friendly as well.”

In September 2019, Boom also selected Triumph Group to support final assembly and ground testing of the XB-1 demonstrator aircraft.