The small Swiss solar-powered aircraft Solar Impulse 2 covered more than 43,000 kilometres as it took just over one year to fly around the world. While afloat in the sky, it was powered solely by the sun’s energy – by day as well as by night.
The technology developed as part of this ambitious project will change the lives of millions of people, writes Ulrich Spiesshofer in a commentary in the Swiss weekly newspaper the Handelszeitung. The CEO of ABB explains how his company broke new ground in many areas of clean technology when contributing to the development of Solar Impulse 2.
Spiesshofer mentions so-called micro-grids, autonomous energy grids that are operated with solar or wind power. Solar Impulse 2 itself was designed as a flying micro-grid, able to switch between solar and battery energy in a matter of seconds. According to Spiesshofer, such micro-grids could one day provide energy supply in areas so remote that they are not connected to a broader electricity network.
The diverse technologies used to collect data on all critical parameters in the aircraft and about the pilot also offer perspectives far beyond the Solar Impulse project. They are already today being used in the context of the Internet of Things and are constantly evolving.
ABB also collaborated with Swatch to develop a sensor for electric motors that ensures greater energy efficiency and less downtime. Another by-product of the Solar Impulse journey around the world was the development of an ultra-fast charging system that can charge electric buses in just 15 seconds. It will come into use in 2018 as part of a public transport project in Geneva.