As André continues his descent toward Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, a flight that might set a new world distance record in the solar aviation category, innovation is definitely reaching new heights, but not only in America’s skies.

Schindler, a Solar Impulse Main Partner and world leading elevator and escalator manufacturer, is following Solar Impulse’s pioneering spirit, also vertically, but in a different way. Schindler heavily invested in a concept; a concept that became reality and is now being commercialized:  a solar-powered elevator.

A revolutionary achievement, Schindler’s solar elevator does not only reduce energy consumption, it can run entirely on sunlight. Furthermore, because of their capacity to run independently of the power grid, it allows them to function, undisturbed, in case of a power outage.

Prototype solar elevators were tested in Barcelona (Spain) and Switzerland in residential, low-rise buildings. The energy is collected by solar panels on the building’s rooftop while excess energy is stored in the Energy Storage Device (ESD) until needed. Backup power needs are provided by a one- phase grid connection, significantly simpler and more cost-efficient compared to standard three-phase connections.

The embedded Schindler engineers are the direct partnership link between Schindler and Solar Impulse, demonstrating the intense information and innovation exchange between the two companies. But Schindler’s contribution to the project goes beyond. Thanks to them and five other partners, Solvay, Bayer MaterialScience, Swiss Re Corporate Solutions, SunPower and the Swiss Confederation, this year’s Across America mission has come true.   

The first event week in Phoenix proved the high interest of the public in Solar Impulse - certainly beyond what was expected. The demand was so high that we had to open an extra public day, in addition to the two originally scheduled.  There were people of all ages, families with kids, aviation enthusiasts and renewable energies supporters. A total of 2,250 people had a chance to view the airplane and we’re hoping to share the same excitement with many more in the stopover cities along the way.

In the evening, the Swiss Consulate organized a dinner event under the wings of the solar airplane with the presence of numerous Consuls, an Ambassador and two Judges including the Governor of Arizona, Mrs. Jan Brewer, the Honorary Consul of Switzerland, Alisa Jost, Secretary of the State of Arizona, Ken Bennett and the Chairman of the Consular Corps of Arizona, Michael Chan.

The mood was festive to the beat of Frank Sinatra’s “New York, New York” – Big Apple here we come! During the event, Bertrand renamed Governor Brewer “Solar Queen” because of the significant investments in solar power Arizona is making with the ambitious objective of making Arizona the first clean tech State in the United States.

Beyond Across America and the mission’s final destination, there were talks about the flight around the world, scheduled for 2015. The Consul General of Mexico, Victor Trevino Escudero, said he hopes his country will extend the partnership to Solar Impulse for a 2015 stopover in Mexico, but I’m afraid he might have some competition for this privilege with a much younger visitor... At the end of a public visit, a little boy carried in his mother’s arms cried out: “Mom, is that going to be the last time I get to see the plane?” We might want to consider paying another visit to Phoenix in 2015 as well, before going to Mexico, as it might make many kids, and this one in particular, very happy.

Photo left: Bertrand, Governor of Arizona, Jan Brewer and André.