Solar Impulse completes record-breaking round-the-world flight.

A plane powered only by energy from the Sun, has completed its 15-month mission to circumnavigate the world.

The Solar Impulse plane landed in Abu Dhabi yesterday after completing its incredible 25,000-mile record-breaking journey.

This feat is the world’s first round-the-world flight to be powered solely by the sun. No fuel was used during the circumnavigation.

The plane was engineered in Switzerland and uses over 17000 solar cells to drive the four electric propellers, and charge the lithium batteries. The batteries are used to power the plane during night-time flights.

Solar Impulse made 16 stops across the world during its epic journey. The high tech plane crossed both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

The team set out to prove the viability of solar energy, encourage lower energy consumption and save natural resources.

The two pilots, Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg,  intend to continue their flight around the world. Using no fuel  at all, their solar aircraft is a flying laboratory promoting the use of renewable energies and energy efficiency on the ground, for a better quality of life.

The 17000 solar cells use technology from Sunpower, World leaders in solar cell  production. For more information about Sunpower solar cells, please follow these links:

Sunpower solar cells. Used  on the Solar Impulse  plane.

Solar panels manufactured using Sunpower solar cells.