If a team of Switzerland-based aeronauts has its way, solar planes could be the next big revolution in the aviation sector. Can Indian companies benefit too?
A little over a century ago, when the Wright Brothers’ maiden flight resulted in a short, bumpy ride, it was hard to even think that “heavier-than-air” aircrafts would one day change the way we travel.
In fact, at that time a lot of people were even able to demonstrate that it was impossible to fly that way. But innovation and advanced technology not only proved them wrong, but also made air travel affordable.
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Today, however, the focus of research has shifted. The increasing demand for aviation fuel and growing concerns over environmental damage are driving researchers to find greener alternatives. It is predicted that aircraft emissions, which currently contribute about 3% to global carbon emissions, will be one of the major contributors to global warming by 2050. Also, according to a report by the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), fuel consumption by civil aviation is expected to reach 300 million tonnes in 2015 and 450 million tonnes in 2050.
Given this background, imagine a flight powered by solar energy, and therefore consuming no fuel and producing no pollution. Impossible? Well, you are wrong!
Though the concept of solar planes is still in experimental stages, progress is clearly visible. It has traveled a long way since the days of the unmanned Sunrise I, the world’s first solar-powered flight in 1974, and Gossamer Penguin, which was capable of carrying a human in 1980. Now, it is the turn of Solar Impulse, which are attempting to demonstrate the feasibility of a day-night-day cycle (36-hour) flight.
All this brings us to another burning question: though still a distant dream, can solar energy actually power a commercial flight in the future?
Solar Impulse: Showing the way forward?
Solar planes have caught the fancy of many, with at least 10 prototypes in development right now for various purposes — right from collecting scientific samples to providing telecommunications relay platforms. So what is unique about Solar Impulse?
Solar Impulse is a project led by Bertrand Piccard, a psychiatrist and aeronaut who made the first non-stop round-the-world tour in a balloon, and André Borschberg, an engineer and graduate in management science, trained as a fighter pilot. The team works in Lausanne in Switzerland. Their project, if successful, could possibly be the next stage in aviation technology.
Borschberg, CEO of Solar Impulse, explains, “It is the first airplane that will have no fuel on board. By having no fuel on board and flying on solar energy, it will create zero pollution and not emit any greenhouse gases. It is planned to fly them day and night on solar energy, so it doesn’t have to go down to refuel. It can fly until the pilot is too tired!”
Achieving this, however, is easier said than done because staying airborne for 36 hours or completing a day-night-day flight without conventional air fuel requires an unprecedented level of technology. Especially so because the energy collected by 1 sq. m of photovoltaic cells can supply only 28 watts of power – the equivalent of an electric light bulb!
Therefore, a complete makeover of a conventional airplane model was needed, with drastic reduction in its energy consumption. According to the project’s website, “Only a machine of disproportionate dimensions (61 m wingspan) and very light weight (1500 kg) will be able to fly sufficiently slowly (45 km/h) to operate off the available energy!” There were two issues that had to be addressed — constructing an aircraft the size of an Airbus and weight of a mid-sized car (a challenge in itself); and the controllability of such a flight.
The single-pilot plane is said to be microlight and based on innovative techniques of aerodynamics, structure, construction methods, and propulsion. To make the plane lightweight, very thin layers of carbon of 0.5 mm thickness and 20 mm length is being used.
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Secondly, I wish to know from Borschberg why is he targeting 0% carbon, i.e., would the plane be more practical if he were to cut carbon emissions to, say 10% or 20% and not totally zero? What if the aircraft includes a smaller engine and solar power is used to supplement it?
Instead of charging the batteries during the flight, how about charging them from the plug before the flight? Can that make this plane smaller and capable of carrying more passengers?
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