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Lightweight plane to raise energy conservation awareness

A new scientific and innovative initiative which is also philosophical, in that it aims to raise awaremess of energy conservation awareness, was revealed this week. The latest version of the Solar Impulse an aircraft which is to be the first to travel around the world entirely without fuel in 2015, was unveiled on Wednesday in Payerne, Switzerland. Advanced technical textiles are used extensively and on board are numerous innovative products and solutions from Bayer MaterialScience that make the plane especially lightweight and energy efficient, including a novel and extremely efficient insulating material for the cockpit, the materials company reports.

21st April 2014

Innovation in Textiles
 |  Payerne

Transport/​Aerospace, Industrial

A new scientific and innovative initiative which is also philosophical, in that it aims to raise awaremess of energy conservation awareness, was revealed this week. The latest version of the Solar Impulse an aircraft which is to be the first to travel around the world entirely without fuel in 2015, was unveiled on Wednesday in Payerne, Switzerland.

Advanced technical textiles are used extensively and on board are numerous innovative products and solutions from Bayer MaterialScience that make the plane especially lightweight and energy efficient, including a novel and extremely efficient insulating material for the cockpit, the materials company reports.

On board are high-tech products from Bayer MaterialScience. The company was responsible for the design of the complete cockpit shell, among other things. © Bayer MaterialScience AG

On its historic journey around the world, the plane will be powered solely by the sun. The energy will be generated by roughly 17,200 solar cells on the wings, which at 72 metres have a span equal to that of the largest passenger airliners. The entire aircraft however weighs only 2.3 tons.

Day and night without fuel

The new plane is the advancement of a first prototype, which demonstrated in 2010 the feasibility to fly day and night only on solar energy and since then successfully completed numerous flights, most recently a coast-to-coast journey across the United States. The second model will undertake a number of test flights this year as well, prior to setting off on its big mission in March 2015.

The aircraft was unveiled to a large audience invited by Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg, who founded the Solar Impulse project over ten years ago. “The Solar Impulse initiative is both scientific and innovative,” said Piccard. “It is also philosophical, by its goal of raising awareness in society about the need to save our planet’s energy resources.”

Engineer Bernd Rothe (right), responsible for the project, explains the details to Richard Northcote, member of the company’s Executive Committee. © Bayer MaterialScience AG

Bayer MaterialScience, which has been an official partner to the project since 2010, is committed to delivering sustainable products and solutions. “The Solar Impulse project impressively demonstrates how our innovations can help preserve the planet and its natural resources, improve people's lives and create value,” said Richard Northcote, Bayer MaterialScience Executive Committee member, responsible for sustainability.

Highly efficient insulation

Among various things, the company was responsible for the complete design of the cockpit shell. It is a key component of Bayer MaterialScience’s involvement, said Borschberg.

One material the company is providing for this purpose is the extremely high-performance insulating material Baytherm Microcell. Its insulating performance is as much as 10% greater than the current standard, the company reports.

The new “Solar Impulse 2“ was officially presented in Switzerland. The ultralight aircraft is set to become the first plane to fly around the world without a drop of fuel in 2015. © Bayer MaterialScience AG

Baytherm Microcell is used for the aircraft door, while the rest of the cockpit shell is made of a different type of rigid polyurethane foam from Bayer MaterialScience. The company also supplies a polyurethane/carbon fibre composite material for the door locks, and thin sheets of transparent, high-performance polycarbonate for the window.

Silvery coating

Outside the cockpit, rigid polyurethane foam from Bayer MaterialScience is used to insulate the batteries. The company also provides the raw materials for the silvery coating covering large portions of the aircraft and the adhesives that hold the textile fabric in place underneath the wings.

Bayer MaterialScience supplies polycarbonates and polyurethane raw materials to other markets and industries as well, for example for lightweight construction in the automotive industry, for building insulation and for thermal management in consumer electronics. Its involvement in the Solar Impulse project ultimately benefits the further development of key sectors like these.

www.materialscience.bayer.com

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