Solar Impulse’s historic flight is under way – with a little help from leading solar inverter manufacturer ABB.
Solar Impulse left Abu Dhabi yesterday for what will be the first round-the-world flight in a plane powered only by solar energy; piloted by Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg
The aircraft is constructed of carbon fiber and has a 72 metre wingspan – larger than the wingspan of a Boeing 747-8I. It’s a comparative feather weight given its size, just 2,300 kilograms.
The wings of the craft have 17,000 thin film solar cells (135 microns) that power four electric motors and recharge a lithium battery bank accounting for over a quarter of the weight of the plane – 633 kilograms.
At the time of writing, Solar Impulse had landed in Muscat, Oman; where post-flight checks were being performed before it takes off for its next destination – Ahmedabad, India.
From Ahmedabad, Solar Impulse will travel to Mandalay in Myanmar; Chongqing and Nanjing in China; and Hawaii, Phoenix and New York in the United States. It will then cross the Atlantic on its way back to Abu Dhabi, where it is expected to arrive in the middle of this year after completing a journey of around 35,000 kilometres.
While most legs of the journey are reasonably short, the most challenging will be the non-stop flight of five days and nights across much of the Pacific Ocean from China to Hawaii.
The flight is being made possible through an innovation and technology alliance with ABB, formed last year. ABB engineers have helped to improve power yields from the solar cells and enhanced the charging electronics for the plane’s battery systems.
“ABB is proud of its innovation and technology alliance with Solar Impulse, and to be accompanying the first round-the-world flight powered by the sun on its journey,” said ABB Chief Executive Officer Ulrich Spiesshofer. “ABB and Solar Impulse are passionate about pushing the boundaries of technology and innovation to achieve a better world.”
The goal of Solar Impulse’s team is to ” contribute to the cause of renewable energies, to demonstrate the importance of clean technologies for sustainable development; and to place dreams and emotions back at the heart of scientific adventure” – and the team has certainly succeeded there.
Solar Impulse’s journey can be followed here.
ABB is a global leader in power and automation technologies. Based in Zurich, Switzerland, the company employs approximately 140,000 people and operates in approximately 100 countries. ABB solar inverters are a popular choice in Australia for residential solar and commercial PV installations.
