Today, after flying over 5,000 miles purely on solar power and wintering in Honolulu, Hawaii, USA, Solar Impulse began the next phase of the ’Round the World’ flight mission, led by co-founders and pilots Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg. The Solar Impulse 2 airplane took off from Hawaii, piloted by Bertrand Piccard, en route to Moffett airfield near San Francisco.
The Solar Impulse 2 solar airplane is the first of its kind, flying day and night without fuel or polluting emissions to demonstrate the ability of today’s clean technologies to save natural resources, improve quality of life and inspire sustainable development worldwide through scientific adventure.
Solar Impulse is equipped with 17,000 solar cells that absorb energy during daytime to supply power to a 2,077-pound lithium battery used during the night. Solar Impulse has now embarked on the eighth flight leg of the journey and is on track to circumnavigate the globe this summer – another feat no solar powered plane has successfully completed.
“We want to show that clean technology and renewable energy can achieve the unthinkable,” said Bertrand Piccard, pilot and chairman of the program. “We want youth, leaders, organizations and policymakers to understand that what Solar Impulse can achieve in the air, everyone can accomplish on the ground in their everyday lives. Renewable energy can become an integral part of our lives, and together, we can help save our planet’s natural resources.”
“The drive behind the Solar Impulse mission is to demonstrate how innovation and a pioneering spirit can change the world,” said Thomas Oetterli, CEO of Schindler. “That is why Schindler is a main partner in the Solar Impulse project. We share this spirit of vision and innovation for the future. As a leading global manufacturer of elevators, escalators and moving walks, Schindler is pushing the boundaries of how people view mobility in the cities of tomorrow.”
“We are so incredibly proud to be a part of this historic mission,” said Greg Ergenbright, president, Schindler Elevator Corporation USA. “This partnership is the perfect embodiment of Schindler’s ongoing investment in innovative technology for sustainable mobility. Bertrand, André and the entire Solar Impulse team continue to inspire us in our relentless pursuit of trailblazing technology that safely moves more people with less energy.”
Solar Impulse will continue with flight legs across America, the Atlantic Ocean and Europe before reaching its starting point and final destination of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.