Solar Impulse Concludes Across America Trip in NYC and Rings NASDAQ Bell

In a leap towards flying around the world using solar power alone, Solar Impulse landed in New York this weekend – an important landmark for the Swiss project.

Two of the key people behind the project, André Borschberg and Bertrand Piccard, were invited to ring NASDAQ's opening bell this Tuesday morning together with Thomas Werner, CEO of SunPower - Solar Impulse partner and solar cell provider. 

After a flattering introduction about "making history Across America" by NASDAQ's Vice President Global Corporate Client, David Wicks, André and Bertrand shared Solar Impulse's message about the potential of renewable energies and the need to capitalize on a clean tech-powered future. "Solar Impulse is meant to inspire people, to bring new technologies to the public. If we want a cleaner and better world, technology will play that role; that's why we believe that NASDAQ is a really good airport for Solar Impulse" said Bertrand finishing off on a humorist note. "The technologies on our solar plane are designed to be energy efficient and light. These technologies and are slowly finding their way into other applications, creating profit - and that's what will make the clean tech industry grow into the future." Concluded André.

A euphoric yet emotional moment for the team as Solar Impulse was streamed on the NASDAQ tower and picked up by all the major financial television networks.

The Swiss Institute of Technology in Lausanne, EPFL, has been a scientific partner to Solar Impulse since the plane’s inception, helping to validate the feasibility of the aircraft all the way to monitoring the mental states and heart rates of the pilots.

Throughout the years, EPFL scientists have evaluated and developed technology for Solar Impulse. They assembled the first mathematical models of the airplane, combining expertise from almost 15 laboratories and providing a first global picture. They also worked on aspects like flight simulators, solar cell technology, motor optimization, and man-machine interfaces with the participation of 20 laboratories. As Solar Impulse lands in New York, this fruitful collaboration continues with studies that address turbulence during take-off and landing, models of composite materials, and pilot well-being under strenuous flight conditions.

Validating the Dream

EPFL set the scientific framework of this solar powered airplane back in 2003 as the official scientific partner to Solar Impulse. The first report preferred a plane to the alternate proposal of a Zeppelin, suggesting a wingspan of approximately 70 meters and a weight of 1800 kg – close to the 63.5 meter, 1600 kg HB-SIA plane that just landed at JFK International Airport. This very first model was established by Pierre-Olivier Moix at the Industrial Electronics Laboratory. In close collaboration with André Borschberg, who would later become CEO, co-founder and pilot of Solar Impulse, Moix combined a set of components into a single mathematical model and found that a solar-powered plane could fly around the world.

To build this model, technical specifications were provided by EPFL scientists on components such as motor propeller optimization, energy generation and management, composite materials and multi-functional solar skins. Scientist Alfio Quarteroni and collaborators later extended this model for efficient design of a solar airplane using advanced mathematics. The same methodology was used to design the yacht Alinghi, which won the America’s Cup in 2003 and 2007.

The advice and technology provided by EPFL scientists has guided Solar Impulse throughout its adventure, and it has stimulated valuable research at EPFL. With Solar Impulse’s milestone flight “Across America” from California to New York, EPFL and Solar Impulse look ahead to a continuing collaboration in the future and an around-the-world flight in 2015. -- ©2013 EPFL, Solar Impulse