Altran Technologies : Round-the-World flight pays off for Solar Impulse and Altran, long-standing partner of the project

Altran, global leader in innovation and high-tech engineering consulting, has been actively supporting Solar Impulse since 2003. The solar aircraft's round-the-world flight has come to a successful end in Abu Dhabi, after 17 legs and almost 25,000 miles (40,000 km). Pilots Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg thus flew around the world for the first time in an aircraft powered exclusively by solar energy.

The Altran group's commitment alongside the Solar Impulse teams can be seen first and foremost in the involvement nearly 40 international Altran engineers over the past 13 years, including a permanent 6-member team at the Mission Control Center (MCC) in Monaco and Spain.

A long-standing partner in this adventure, Altran lies at the core of the project thanks to its unique engineering skills, particularly in the three fields of expertise crucial for guiding the pilots throughout their flight around the world:

• Development of the flight strategy and creation of flight plans. Since 2003, more than 100 billion flight plans have been calculated, making this mission one of the most monumental calculation program's in the history of Altran.

• Creation and maintenance of the stability enhancement system ("virtual copilot") to assist the pilot during long-distance flights.

• Safety studies and analyses to guarantee the aircraft's compliance with regulations and ensure issuance of certifications and flight permits.

"For Solar Impulse to take to the air, our engineers developed innovative solutions that reflect the complexity of the project. In addition to providing expertise, Altran is personally devoted to the initiative and proud of its commitment to this unique enterprise intended to promote clean technologies. On behalf of the Group, I would like to congratulate Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg for their accomplishment, and my thanks go out to all the Altran experts who contributed to this successful outcome," said Dominique Cerutti, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Altran.

Christophe Béesau, Head of the Altran Simulation Team, emphasized that, "During 13 years of intensive research, Altran has proven its ability to create innovative solutions to address the challenges of tomorrow. The expertise of Altran in the massive number of calculations required for simulations was the key factor to make routing possible for this round-the-world flight. Calculations amounted to more than 45 trillion kilometers flown during virtual flights since the start of the project."

• Nearly 40 Altran engineers representing six nationalities participated in the project over 13 years

• More than 18,000 flight simulations calculated by Altran engineers

• One billion kilometers logged in "virtual" mode for each kilometer of actual flight around the world

• The Altran team was on the job 24/7 while Solar Impulse was in the air, analyzing flight paths and conveying the best route to the pilot

• Since the project began, engineers put in some 70,000 hours of work

To relive all SI2 flights since March 2015, click here and discover the control screen created by Altran at the MCC in Monaco.

Altran will hold a press conference in September with the Solar Impulse pilots to present an assessment of this unique partnership and the future prospects the project makes possible.

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As a global leader in Engineering and R&D services (ER&D), Altran offers its clients a new way to innovate by developing the products and services of tomorrow. Altran works alongside its clients on every link in the value chain of their project, from conception to industrialization. For over thirty years, the Group has provided its expertise to key players in the Aerospace, Automotive, Defence, Energy, Finance, Life Sciences, Railway, and Telecoms sectors, among others. In 2015, the Altran group generated revenues of €1.945bn. With a headcount of more than 26,000 employees, Altran has a presence in more than 20 countries.

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Group Vice-President Communications Tel: + 33 (0)1 46 41 71 73

marine.boulot@altran.com

Diane de Brisis Senior consultat

Tél : +33 (0) 1 47 03 47 36

diane.debrisis@shan.fr

@Altran