Solar Impulse in ‘mission mode’ ahead of resuming round-the-world attempt

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email

Solar Impulse 2, the “zero fuel airplane” which began a round-the-world attempt last year, is set to resume flying from the Hawaii base where it has been grounded since last July.

Maintenance and training flights have been completed and on Thursday the team’s experts including air traffic controllers, meteorologists and mission engineers were looking to find a suitable “weather window” to allow the plane to take off on its journey from Hawaii to North America. The Hawaii-to-North American leg of the flight could land in Phoenix in Arizona, around San Francisco or Los Angeles or in the Vancouver area, with the team currently weighing up its options for the optimal route.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Try Premium for just $1

  • Full premium access for the first month at only $1
  • Converts to an annual rate after 30 days unless cancelled
  • Cancel anytime during the trial period

Premium Benefits

  • Expert industry analysis and interviews
  • Digital access to PV Tech Power journal
  • Exclusive event discounts

Or get the full Premium subscription right away

Or continue reading this article for free

The plane was forced to cut its journey around the globe short half-way through after a five-day continuous stint in the air, when its batteries began to overheat. The plane was travelling from Nagoya, Japan, to Hawaii when the batteries suffered irreversible damage.

The team continues to wait for the right weather conditions and will make a decision on route a couple of days before flying. A statement said it had learned from its experiences in 2015 to allow itself a more flexible approach to route-planning. From its North American destination, the flight will go to one of either New York, Abu Dhabi or a destination in Europe or North Africa.

Read Next

August 28, 2025
Bahraini, Chinese, Egyptian and Emirati groups have agreed to develop a new solar and storage manufacturing facility in Egypt
August 21, 2025
Canadian Solar shipped 7.9GW of modules in the second quarter of this year, a 14% quarter-on-quarter increase.
Premium
August 6, 2025
PV Talk: LevelTen’s Andrés Acosta discusses how an oversupply of clean projects is shaping Europe’s PPA market.
July 30, 2025
Wind and solar PV are set to cover over 90% of the increase in global electricity demand this year, according to the IEA.
July 18, 2025
Georgia Power’s 2025 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) will see the utility aim to install 4GW of new renewable power capacity by 2035.
July 7, 2025
In Europe, PV panel prices fell marginally between May and June, leading to a slight downturn in European module buyers’ market confidence.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Solar Media Events
September 16, 2025
Athens, Greece
Solar Media Events
September 30, 2025
Seattle, USA
Solar Media Events
October 1, 2025
London, UK
Solar Media Events
October 2, 2025
London,UK
Solar Media Events
October 7, 2025
Manila, Philippines