Flying has always been a passionate interest with members of my family and I must admit I have enjoyed airshows myself, even if not the main instigator of visits. However, I do wish I had had the chance to attend the Paris Air Show last week for just one reason: the Solar Impulse. The completely solar-powered aircraft is a revolution – and an inspiration: Look Mum, no fuel and no pollution. While its slow speed, weight sensitivity, and delicate handling means it will not be threatening commercial carriers any time soon, it is undoubtedly a significant breakthrough for the aviation industry and one which will help to shape the future of flying.
According to Solar Impulse founder and Chairman Bertrand Piccard (the first man to have circumnavigated the globe in a balloon) speaking to Reuters: Now we are starting a new cycle again, it’s a new cycle with zero fuel, and this really is important. So of course, the aeroplanes will make some evolution, it will not always stay so big, so light, so sensitive to the weather, but this is a first step, now we are showing that an aeroplane with zero fuel, just on solar power, can fly day and night with a pilot on board.
While its Swiss-based team no doubt enjoyed the attention in Paris, they are also busy working on the next and larger generation of solar plane, due to fly around the world in 2014. So why are the Solar Impulse team undertaking this “great adventure” to push back the limits of the impossible? In the words of their website: Solar Impulse’s ambition is for the world of exploration and innovation to contribute to the cause of renewable energies, to demonstrate the importance of clean technologies for sustainable development; to save natural resources and reduce our dependency on fossil energy; and to place dreams and emotions back at the heart of scientific adventure.
Built entirely of lightweight carbon fibre, the plane weighs about the same as a mid-sized car, but boasts a wingspan of 64 metres, slightly wider than a Boeing 747. No small feat to construct, the design was brought to life by a Swiss ship-builder, Décision which had built the America’s Cup –winning yacht Alinghi, after traditional aircraft manufacturers has said the task was impossible. 11,628 solar cells across its wingspan provide the power which is stored in lithium-ion batteries to provide power for times when there is no sun or at night. With its light but large frame, the trick is to fly to conserve power versus at maximum speed – a task which is made difficult if winds are other than calm, one of the reasons the Brussels to Paris leg of the trip to the Paris Air Show had to be abandoned on the first attempt.
Beyond the praise for such an ambitious project, however, many in the aviation industry remain sceptical. Most critics suggest there is little application for the technologies used in the Solar Impulse in other areas of aviation. Really? Such views seem incredibly short-sighted when you consider that using solar cells to generate and store power are being used in many applications, from buildings to cars to mobile device charging – the latter even via T-shirts embedded with solar cells at major music festivals! Granted, depending ONLY on solar power when you are several thousand metres above the ground may be pretty risky at the current level of the technology, but solar technology is improving incredibly rapidly, as are new generations of energy storage devices whether batteries or fuel cells. Surely there have to be some applications within aviation, given today’s generations of aircraft are becoming ever-more electricity hungry? Certainly the US military, Boeing and a few other companies worldwide are looking at the potential for unmanned aircraft which would be solar-powered, for surveillance, communications and other purposes. Even on commercial aircraft, it seems obvious that solar cells could be used to provide energy for non-critical systems (like powering passengers’ electronic devices or media systems), running systems while on the ground or back-up.
The airline industry is under orders from the EU to cut their carbon emissions on flights to the continent by 3% by 2012 even as airline traffic grows, so they will need to get creative and this also means considering renewable fuels. Beyond solar power, there are other renewable sources being actively looked at by airlines. These include KLM which has successfully tested biofuel from used cooking oil in combination with traditional aviation fuel, on the first flight with passengers to use such a mix in 2009. KLM’s Managing Director expects authorization for the airline to use such mixes on KLM’s commercial flights soon. In addition, Virgin, Sir New Zealand, Air Japan and Continetal Airlines have completed successful demonstration flights using biofuel mixes. The advantages include the obvious recycling, reduction in emissions, potentially lower costs in an age of volatile fuel and oil prices, plus no need to make changes to the engines. Used cooking oil has also found a place in London taxis – again while a novelty, it has been remarkably successful, despite the slight odour of “chip shops” as the cabs go by. The advantage of redirecting used cooking oil to biofuel in the skies versus the streets is that this small smell inconvenience does not exist – and as a thought, even on the streets of London, perhaps some enterprising fragrance company will find a way to make the cooking oil smell sweet?
Our next monthly GT Briefing is entitled: Clean Technologies – Are we Serious? The key focus is that there are many, many clean technologies which we have available or in development, but it does not appear that we are ready yet to embrace them fully. A recent IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) report on the Potential of Renewable Energy emphasizes this point – the scenarios run by the panel suggest that close to 80% of the world‘s energy supply could be met by renewables by 2050 if backed by the right enabling public policies. Yes, that is not a typo: 80%. But the lower-case scenario, without the enabling policies, is that only 15% of the world’s energy use in 2050 would be provided by renewables. That’s a huge difference which clearly highlights the choices we have as societies, industries and individuals. We either embrace renewables and start to address the climate and resources challenges the planet faces or we don’t and simply pass the legacy on to the next generations…
So let me end with a quote from Bertrand Piccard speaking to the International Herald Tribune about the industry scepticism as it applies to many applications of clean technologies:
Everybody knows the concept. But the desire to really implement these technologies in our society is missing.
Your choice and mine…
