The man who flew around the world in a hot air balloon has set his sights on a much more daunting task: Flying around the world in a solar powered plane (the HB-SIA to be exact).
Bertrand Piccard started the company Solar Impulse with his partner Andre Borschberg and it appears as though the HB-SIA dream is about to come true.
It is as large as a jumbo jet with the weight of a standard car. It runs on four 10 horsepower electric engines that are powered by the sun. It is expected to fly at an altitude of 8500 km at a speed of 70 km/hr (around the world should take no time at all…yeah, right).
Preliminary flight test should begin later this year.
Key Themes Behind This Trend
- Solar-powered Transportation
- The development of solar-powered planes like the HB-SIA presents disruptive innovation opportunities in the transportation industry.
- Renewable Energy Innovation
- The use of solar energy to power planes opens up disruptive innovation opportunities in the renewable energy sector.
- Efficiency in Air Travel
- The concept of zero-fuel planes highlights disruptive innovation opportunities to increase the efficiency of air travel.
Where This Applies
- Aviation
- The aviation industry can explore disruptive innovation opportunities by embracing the development of solar-powered planes.
- Renewable Energy
- The renewable energy industry can capitalize on disruptive innovation opportunities by furthering research and development in solar-powered transportation.
- Transportation
- The transportation industry can benefit from disruptive innovation opportunities by adopting and promoting sustainable and zero-fuel modes of travel like the HB-SIA solar-powered plane.
