By Vincenzo Claudio Piscopo
Boom Supersonic Announces Sustainable Aviation Fuel Supply Agreement with Dimensional Energy
Boom Supersonic announced a few days ago that it has signed a sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) purchase agreement with Dimensional Energy, a US-based sustainable fuels company. Boom will purchase up to 5 million gallons of SAF annually for the duration of the Overture flight test program.
The Overture is Boom’s supersonic aircraft currently under development, which will be capable of flying at a design speed of Mach 1.7, operating on 100% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) at a cruise altitude of 60,000 feet for a range of 4250 NM, and carrying approximately 80 passengers. The aircraft is expected to enter service by the end of the decade.
Dimensional Energy is a leading SAF liquid fuel technology and manufacturing company. At its technology center in Tempe, Arizona, it combines proprietary carbon technology with the Fischer-Tropsch process, a century-old process that uses a series of chemical reactions to convert hydrogen and carbon monoxide into liquid hydrocarbons using a catalyst. In fact, Dimensional Energy’s website shows how everything needed to produce zero-emission fuels can be taken directly from the air, via carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and industrial sites, and hydrogen from water. Inside the reactor, the catalyst breaks the molecular bonds of carbon dioxide to form carbon monoxide. Finally, the carbon monoxide mixes with hydrogen to form synthesis gas, or “syngas”, a building block for fuels and products and a substitute for oil and natural gas.
Kathy Savitt, President and Chief Business Officer of Boom, is very pleased with the agreement, which is an important step in transforming air travel and making supersonic flight sustainable for years to come.
United Airlines (the first U.S. airline to sign a contract to purchase 15 Overturture aircraft with an option for 35 more) also announced an agreement to purchase at least 300 million gallons of SAF from Dimensional Energy in 2022. Mike Leskinen, President of United Airlines Ventures, said United Airlines is committed to decarbonizing its operations by 2050, which is why it has invested in the production of 5 billion gallons of SAF.
Boom Supersonic has already secured 10 million gallons of SAF and aims to achieve zero carbon emissions by 2025. Specifically, Boom has achieved carbon neutrality in 2021 through reduction initiatives and high-quality carbon credits. Boom’s 2022 Environmental Sustainability Report will be published this June.
Certainly, this agreement represents another small step into the future. But while these announcements are encouraging, we still have to wait for regulatory approval, and commercial flights will probably not start until 2029 at the earliest. It should also be remembered that Overture will not be cheap – according to Boom Supersonic itself, tickets will cost $5,000 per seat – but interest in the return of commercial supersonic flight remains high among both airlines and passengers.
Vincenzo graduated in 2019 in Mechanical Engineering with an aeronautical curriculum, focusing his thesis on Human Factors in aircraft maintenance. In 2022 he pursued his master’s degree in Aerospace Engineering at the University of Palermo, Italy. He combines his journalistic activities with his work as a Reliability Engineer at Zetalab.
