Zero-Emission Solar-Powered Aircraft To Be Unveiled On June 26th

Solar Impulse, a project based in Switzerland, will unveil a zero-emission solar-powered aircraft prototype on June 26 at an airfield near Zurich. The creators will take the plane on a test-flight later in 2009 and hope to eventually create an airplane that can embark on a world tour. 

If the project succeeds, the zero-emission solar-powered airplane may provide a foundation for the transformation of the global aviation industry, which currently accounts for approximately 2% of human-generated carbon dioxide emissions and is predicted to have an increasing impact on climate change as global demand for air travel increases.

Between 1990 and 2006, emissions from aviation increased by 87% in the EU. Moreover, the IPCC predicts that by 2050 the global aviation industry will account for approximately 5% of the global effect of climate change.  Since airplane emissions are released higher in the atmosphere, the IPCC also estimates that their impact on climate change may be 2 to 4 times that of carbon dioxide emissions on the ground.

At the moment, however, Solar Impulse's current prototype is nothing close to the large solar-powered commercial airplane that would be needed to decrease emissions produced by the global airline industry. The plane, which has a wingspan approximately 60 meters long  and holds 12,000 photovoltaic cells, has space for only 1 passenger - the pilot. If the test flight of the prototype goes well, another model, with the capacity to fly at higher altitudes, will be finalized.

Solar Impulse's first prototype  is the product of work by a multidisciplinary team of 50 experts from more than 6 countries. It is supported by companies and groups including Omega, Deutsche Bank, and the International Air Transport Association (IATA), which pledged to cap emissions from aviation by 2020.