INGENIEUR
COVER FEATURE
FLYING
WITHOUT
FUEL
The Solar Impulse flew
40,000 km around the world
without fuel in a unique
and super robust, light and
extremely energy efficient
aircraft. This tremendous
feat was achieved with many
engineering and technical
innovations.
S
wiss engineer André Borschberg and
medical doctor Bertrand Piccard have made
history by flying 40,000 km around the world
on a plane that uses only the power of the sun and
not a drop of fuel. They were the pioneers behind
the Solar Impulse project and took turns to fly a
plane powered by the sun’s energy, photovoltaic
cells and electric motors.
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VOL67
55JULY-SEPTEMBER
JUNE 2013 2016
Despite this momentous achievement, Piccard
points out that this landmark journey was not to
revolutionise air travel but to awaken minds to the
power of clean energy and energy efficiency. “The
Solar Impulse was not built to carry passengers, but
to convey messages. We do not plan to revolutionise
the aviation industry but instead to demonstrate that
alternative energy sources and new technologies can
achieve what some consider impossible, ” he says.
Indeed, the Solar Impulse could only accommodate
one person – the pilot. Major civil and military aircraft
makers were highly sceptical that a plane could fly
solely on solar energy.
“To fly with solar energy only, we needed to
find a way to build an aircraft that is super robust
and super light at the same time, and above all
extremely energy efficient, so as to need only
minuscule amounts of energy in order to fly,”
notes Borschberg. The Solar Impulse’s recordbreaking flight across the Pacific and Atlantic
completed in July this year was made possible
by many technical innovations. An estimated 10
innovations have already been patented by the
partners of the project and will find applications in
everyday life, such as home insulation, electrical
motors, batteries, solar elevators and LED lighting.