Prince Albert II of Monaco paid tribute to the ingenuity of the Solar Impulse 2 project in transforming awareness of the potential of clean energy, and the role of Abu Dhabi.
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After it landed in Abu Dhabi there were celebrations for Andre Borschberg and Bertrand Piccard, the two Swiss pilots who had taken turns flying the solar cell encrusted plane.
Prince Albert II of Monaco, Doris Leuthard, Vice President of the Swiss Confederation, and Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of State and Chairman of Masdar, Abu Dhabi’s renewable energy company and official host partner of Si2, led the welcoming committee of worldwide dignitaries and VIPs.
Although the Solar Impulse team planned to complete the global trip previous year, the mission had several setbacks, including some weather delays; however, the biggest holdup was when Solar Impulse 2 was grounded in July 2015 for about 10 months to fix severe battery damage suffered when crossing the Pacific Ocean. “My deepest admiration and respect for your courage”, he said. It has flown 40,000 km around the world, but at an average speed of 70 kmph, again like a city vehicle.
The pilots breathed oxygen at high altitude and wore specially designed suits to cope with extreme conditions – temperatures ranging from minus 20 degrees to plus 35 degrees C. Nestle Health Science, which provided their tailor-made meals, said its research could help develop “convenient, highly-nutritious food” for elderly people. “By combining their respective strengths, Solar Impulse and ABB were able to show how breakthrough innovation can be transformed into credible solutions, and how energy can be more efficiently produced, stored and used to create a cleaner world”. The attempt was initially expected to last five months, including 25 days of actual flying.
The Swiss-engineered plane had made 16 stops across the world, using no fuel. But the aircraft was grounded last July when its solar-powered batteries suffered problems halfway through the trip. The project has also been beset by bad weather and illness. In the air, the pilot was constantly in contact with mission control in Monaco, where weathermen, mathematicians and engineers monitored the route and prepared flight strategies. “The biggest challenge is to have an airplane that can fly perpetually, days and nights without refuelling, because there is no fuel”.
This is a historic day for Captain Piccard and the Solar Impulse team, but it is also a historic day for humanity. “The ball is rolling!”
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Solar Impulse posted a YouTube video of the final landing in Abu Dhabi on its website and added an online “logbook” entry to set out the team’s vision of how it plans to continue to advocate for clean energy innovation after accomplishing their “crazy dream” of the earthrounding flight. “We can hardly believe that we made it”.
