Today, in the quaint city of Bern, which also happens to be Switzerland’s capital, the Swiss Federal Council reinforced its support of the Solar Impulse project.  

Thanks to this, Solar Impulse will continue to benefit from the hangars in Dübendorf (where HB-SIB is being built) and Payerne (where HB-SIA is currently housed and where the test flights of HB-SIB will occur). In the meantime, Switzerland’s affiliation to the project provides the ideal platform to showcase the Helvetian innovative and entrepreneurial spirit.

It’s not by chance that Solar Impulse took flight in this miniscule country at the heart of the Alps. Switzerland has always heavily invested in education and research and is currently home to some of the best laboratories, Universities and technologically innovative SMEs in the world. In fact, the project started thanks to a feasibility study done by the Swiss Polytechnic University in Lausanne (EPFL) while the aircraft was built using a number of materials researched, tested and manufactured within the Confederation’s borders.

The celebrated little white cross superimposed on a red square will once again proudly fly, this time through American skies. Let’s hope we’ll be able to break out, at least once, from the usual clichés of chocolates, cheeses and banks to show another side of this dynamic landlocked country...

Thanks to loyal partners like Solvay, Schindler, Bayer MaterialScience and Swiss Re Corporate Solutions, the dream to conquer new horizons is coming true. Their additional support allows Solar Impulse to achieve a flight mission which was not at all planned before we made the decision to rebuild the wing spar and to postpone the round-the-world flight from 2014 to 2015: crossing the United States from West Coast to East Coast this year! Other partners will probably join in the adventure.

Preparations for departure have increased in intensity. HB-SIA is now dismantled and the material needed for the mission is packed in big wooden crates, all of which will be loaded in a Boeing 747 and shipped to Moffett Airfield at the Ames Research Center of NASA in the heart of Silicon Valley; and from there, a new adventure begins…

For more information about the partnerships:

Solvay

Schindler 

Bayer MaterialScience

Swiss Re Corporate Solutions

Solar Impulse’s Main Partner Schindler, the leading elevator and escalator manufacturer, was ranked as one of the world’s most innovative companies by the American business magazine Forbes. This further proves the cutting-edge role Solar Impulse’s partners play on a global scale.

“This honor is a reflection of Schindler’s unwavering drive to continuously set new standards in the elevator industry with our innovative technology,” said Bill Fiacco, president, Sales & Marketing for Schindler North America. “We promote a concept of ‘mobility for all,’ designing systems that ensure everyone has accessibility to buildings and services, including destination-based and personal service technologies that address the changing needs of a modern world.”

Schindler joined Solar Impulse in September 2011. In its strive for ever more efficient, cleaner and sustainable mobility to address tomorrow’s challenges, Schindler and Solar Impulse were meant to become a team. Three Schindler engineers are currently embedded in the project offering their expertise in new technologies and research and development. It’s a win-win partnership with both actors benefitting from new insights into lightweight structures and modeling.

The entire Solar Impulse team congratulates Schindler for its achievements! 

Two years ago, Bayer MaterialScience became an official partner of Solar Impulse. Today, Friday 28 September the polymer company, a division of Bayer AG, signed on for an extended and stronger partnership agreement with Bertrand and André’s pioneering project. This commitment will result in a greater technical and financial investment in the development of highly specialized materials for the construction of HB-SIB and of the inclusion of the company’s logo on the body of HB-SIA.

To date, Bayer MaterialScience has contributed to the development of a number of Solar Impulse’s HB-SIA parts including high-performance polyurethane foams for the wing tips, motor gondolas and the cockpit, high-performance polycarbonate films used for the cockpit’s window and adhesive and coating materials used in the cabin and wings. 

A team of 30 professionals from various backgrounds are currently engaged by Bayer MaterialScience to work on the Solar Impulse technical project at the company’s Leverkusen office. But their technical developments are not restricted to the Solar Impulse project; on the contrary, many of their specialized materials are already being used by other industries. The automotive, construction and electronics sectors have integrated Bayer’s raw material in their products because of their energy efficiency, lightweight, thermal management, comfort, safety and attractive design.  

The Solar Impulse founders and pilots as well as the team welcome the extension and upgrade of this important partnership!