“ If nobody doubted us then I’d think the goal wasn’t ambitious enough…”
Top left: HB-SIA soars over Ouarzazate Province, Morocco
Above: Piccard and Borschberg celebrate another record
Right: Borschberg in the cockpit
Left: HB-SIA’s wings are constructed from solar cells and carbon
Solar Impulse HB-SIA
Wingspan: 63.40m – equal to an Airbus 340 wide-body commercial passenger jet
Weight: 1,600kg – equal to an average family car
Power: four 10bhp engines – equal to a scooter
HB-SIB, which is currently being built, will push the technology further still, enabling the energy chain to become even more efficient.
Piccard. “It changed the world, and even today it can serve as a symbol by showing society how we can reduce our dependency on fossil fuels with new solutions.
“Our success will not only be to fly around the world without fuel. It will also be to reconcile our economic and ecological interests and to make politicians, business leaders and the public aware of the importance of new technologies.”
Asked why he climbed Everest, Sir Edmund Hillary once famously observed: “Because it’s there.” According to the creators of Solar Impulse, this heroic urge
is no longer the principal driver for man’s determination to conquer new frontiers.
“The grand exploits of the 20th century – reaching the North and South Poles, exploring the depths of the ocean and going to the moon – were all conquests,” says Piccard. “In our view, the grand exploits of the 21st century will have a different perspective: they will improve the quality of life on our planet.”
Deutsche Bank supports Solar Impulse in connection with its own climate strategy. More information, as well as videos of HB- SIA in flight, can be found at www.banking-on-green.com
Winter 2012 — Informed | 31
Images: Jean Revillard, Stéphane Gros and Solar Impulse