Air New Zealand with partnership with Boeing, Rolls-Royc and Honeywell’s UOP tested in a two-hour flight the first green passenger plane in the world.

Scientists say that converting to biofuel, planes would save the environment and could one day fly the biggest jets across the planet without contributing to climate change. The New York Times said yesterday.

During a two-hour flight to and from Auckland International Airport, the Air New Zealand crew sought to test how the fuel, made from jatropha plants and blended 50:50 with Jet A1 fuel in the tank of one of four Rolls-Royce engines on a 747-400, stood up to use at high altitudes and in other demanding conditions.

What is Jatropha:

Jatropha is a plant that grows to approximately three meters high and produces seeds that contain inedible lipid oil that is used to produce fuel. Each seed produces between 30 and 40 percent of its mass in oil and jatropha can be grown in a range of difficult conditions, including arid and otherwise non-arable areas, leaving prime areas available for food crops.

Now, critics said that using jatropha-based fuel still emits carbon dioxide, but aviation officials said the gas is typically recycled in the growing of the feedstock so there is ostensibly no additional CO2 added to the atmosphere.