Abu Dhabi: Solar Impulse 2 will give a new definition to exploration and adventure when it lands in Abu Dhabi early on Tuesday, completing the round-the-world flight of the first solar plane. “It will be a big step in human history,” an official spokesperson of Solar Impulse told Gulf News on Monday.

VIDEO: Dr Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of State and Chairman of 'Masdar', talks to Solar Impulse pilot Bertrand Piccard



“By flying around the world with no fuel, Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg are demonstrating that, today, exploration and pioneering are no longer about conquering new territories, but about exploring new ways to have a better quality of life on Earth. Solar Impulse’s clean technologies can already be used not only in the air but also on the ground, and have the potential to change individual habits, societies and markets in an unprecedented way,” she explained.

The Abu Dhabi-backed iconic plane’s purpose of promoting clean energy meant a larger mission, according to the Solar Impulse team. The project aims to propagate a ‘clean technology spirit’ that will inspire re-engineering everything in life to make it more energy-efficient, and to make the use of renewables more reliable, both technically and economically, in the global energy landscape.

The clean technologies developed by the partners of Solar Impulse, the Switzerland-based organisation, for its ground-breaking solar plane can reduce up to 50 per cent of annual carbon emissions globally. These technologies can be transitioned towards the successful development of solutions to solve everyday problems. They can replace old, polluting systems, with energy-efficient technologies used in electricity networks, home insulation, food storage, automobiles and industrial processes. This clean tech revolution on the ground will be the ultimate legacy of Solar Impulse 2’s solar-powered global flight.

Abu Dhabi has geared up to extend a wonderful welcome to Si2. Senior officials of the UAE Government and foreign dignitaries will lead the welcoming ceremony at Al Bateen Executive Airport. The plane is expected to land around 4am, the Solar Impulse spokeswoman said.

The plane with Piccard, chairman and co-founder of Solar Impulse, at the controls went through a turbulent time on Sunday night on its way from Cairo. After confronting new flight conditions, including high temperatures, upward and downward drafts, and winds in the flight planning, the night was turbulent and it was difficult for Piccard to sleep. But this flight will prove the power of clean technology to change the world; the beginning of the clean technology revolution, Solar Impulse said.

Piccard told Gulf News before taking off from Cairo that this project, for him, will never end. “The round-the-world trip will end in Abu Dhabi but not this project. For me this project means promoting clean energy and clean technologies … it will continue.”

Borschberg, CEO and co-founder of Solar Impulse, said it would be a dream come true for the Solar Impulse team after 13 years of long, hard work. “We worked hard to demonstrate that renewable energy is a feasible option. When we make it possible and prove that renewable energy is reliable for a round-the — world trip, it is a big emotion,” he told Gulf News.

Piccard and Borschberg were taking turns as pilot during the global trip and Borschberg brought Si2 to Cairo in Egypt on July 13, from where Piccard started its final leg towards Abu Dhabi early on Sunday.

Abu Dhabi’s renewable energy company, Masdar, the official partner of Si2, is jubilant about welcoming Si2, after its successful global circumnavigation, back to Abu Dhabi, from where it started its epic mission in March 2015. “The completion of the plane’s round-the-world trip when it arrives in Abu Dhabi will send a powerful message about the viability of clean technologies, and it will inspire the further development of renewable energy in the region and international markets,” Mohammad Jameel Al Ramahi, CEO of Masdar, told Gulf News.

For Hasan Al Redaini, the UAE representative escorting Solar Impulse 2 on its round-the-world trip, the success of the project is a further inspiration to be more committed to the UAE’s cause of promoting clean energy. “Travelling with Si2, I learnt a lot about application of clean energy and sustainability … [in which] the UAE has been a pioneer. Now I will try to find opportunities to give back my knowledge and experience to my community,” Al Redaini told Gulf News on Monday.