Solar Impulse had to cut short its round-the-world flight in July 2015 after overheating caused battery damage. Replacing the batteries took longer than expected, meaning the flight could not resume before the end of the season. Now, the systems have been renewed and the pilots have conducted a series of training flights, according to a press release.
Pilot and honorary president of the swisscleantech economic association Betrand Piccard is set to fly the first stage from Hawaii to North America. During the last attempt, André Borschberg flew from Japan to Hawaii. Confident about the project’s future, he said: “As we experienced many times with Solar Impulse, obstacles often turn out to be opportunities for improvement.”
In North America, Piccard will have four potential destinations: Phoenix, Los Angeles, Vancouver and the San Francisco area. The mission will then continue to New York, Europe or North Africa, with the aim to reach Abu Dhabi, where it all started.
“The primary purpose of this adventure is to demonstrate that modern clean technologies can achieve the impossible and encourage everyone to use these same energy efficient solutions on the ground in their daily lives for mobility, construction, lighting, heating, cooling and more,” explained Piccard of the project’s goal.