Prysmian : Milestone in the aviation and energy fields

Solar Impulse completed first fuel-free flight around Earth

The mission has been completed: Solar Impulse 2, the special solar-powered plane landed last Tuesday in Abu Dhabi, successfully ending the first ever round-the-world flight using only the power of the sun.

It has been an epic journey that began more than a year ago from Abu Dhabi and touched Asia, Japan, Hawaii, the United States and North Africa. It is the first sun-powered airplane to circle the globe without a drop of fuel. According to Bertrand Piccard, who piloted the aircraft with André Borschberg, 'It is more of a success in aviation history: Solar Impulse made history in the field of energy.'

The following data better illustrate the success of this crucial milestone in the development of clean-energy transports:

• It was 40,000 km trip around the world
• More than 500 flight hours to overfly four continents
• The wingspan of the plane is 71.9m, slightly less than that of an Airbus 747, with a weight of just a little more than an average car
• Solar Impulse 2 has 4 engines powered by 17,000 solar cells that send the collected energy to the batteries

'We are proud to be part of this important project. Prysmian Group was a Specialized Partner, having supplied 150 km of special aerospace cables that distribute power around the aircraft,' stated Alain Jeanguillaume, company's Director of Aerospace Business.

André Borschberg also commented: 'To build an airplane of the size of a 747 with the weight of a car, something which was considered impossible by the aviation industry, we had to develop the right mindset in order to push the limits of the technologies. With Partners who believed in the same vision we developed solutions to make our airplanes very energy efficient. All these technologies can be used today in other applications to make our world more energy efficient as well.'