Solar Impulse touches down in Egypt
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Solar Impulse 2 (Si2), the solar-powered plane attempting to become the first aircraft in the world to circumnavigate the globe without using a drop of fossil fuel, took another step towards its epic goal when it touched down in Egypt earlier this week.
The plane was received at Cairo International Airport by Egypt Minister of Civil Aviation H.E. Sherif Fathy and UAE Ambassador to Egypt H.E. Juma Mubarak Al Junaibi.
Cairo is the iconic aircraft’s sixteenth and final stop before reaching Abu Dhabi, the city where Si2 began its record-breaking journey in March last year. Masdar, Abu Dhabi’s renewable energy company, is the official host partner of Si2.
The futuristic aircraft left Spain for Egypt on 11 July after flying over the Gemasolar solar thermal power plant located 60-kilometres to the west of Seville. Masdar is a partner in Gemasolar, a 20-megawatt clean energy plant which like Solar Impulse runs on renewable energy 24-hours a day thanks to a combination of advanced solar power technology and energy storage.
Yousef Baselaib, senior adviser to the CEO of Masdar, was part of the Solar Impulse 2 welcoming committee in Cairo.
“Solar Impulse’s arrival in Egypt is further proof that clean energy is a viable technology in the realisation of a more sustainable future,” he said at a press conference with pilot André Borschberg, who completed his last flight at the controls of Solar Impulse 2 on the Seville-Cairo route.
“Solar Impulse is a window onto the future but also a spotlight on what can be achieved with clean technology today: increased access to sustainable energy and a better quality of life for more and more people around the globe.”
The penultimate step in Si2’s round-the-world adventure, Egypt is also a showcase of Masdar’s thriving partnerships in clean energy and commitment to clean-tech innovation.
Solar Impulse 2 began its epic journey from Abu Dhabi in March 2015, with stops including Oman, India, China and Japan. It completed the first half of its circumnavigation of the globe late last summer, after breaking multiple records on a 7,212km trans-Pacific flight from Japan to Hawaii.
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