Several Chinese companies are in discussions on cooperation
The Solar Impulse Second, the world’s largest solar-powered plane, will make two stopovers in China during a round-the-world flight in 2015, its builders said on Monday.
The second-generation model can fly day-and-night without fuel for five consecutive days and will stop in Nanjing, capital of Jiangsu province, and Chongqing municipality.
The exact dates for the two stopovers will be decided according to weather conditions, but the flight will start in March taking off and returning from Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates.
The Swiss-made, long-range aircraft project is being led by Swiss psychiatrist and pilot Bertrand Piccard, who said China is expected to be its fourth stopover on the journey, after India and Myanmar.
“If you look at how much effort the Chinese government is making to increase the use of renewable energy to optimize the energy mix, you will know that these stopovers are important for us to promote advanced clean technologies,” said Piccard.He said he is already in talks with several Chinese companies with a view to cooperation of the project, and passing on the technology used on the aircraft.