After going around the world in a solar-powered aircraft, Swiss explorer and environmentalist Bertrand Piccard presented this week his latest project, Climate Impulse, a hydrogen-powered plane designed by engineer Raphaël Dinelli, with which they will go around the world. to the world. Ingenuity and daring run in the family, as Piccard is the grandson of Professor Auguste Piccard, the scientist on whom Professor Tornasol from the Tintin series is inspired.
He plans to fly around the world in a hydrogen-powered plane...
...And without stops...
Have you tried it before?
No, but we start from everything that Airbus, Daher Aviation, Cap Gemini, the Ariane group and Syensqo, which is our largest partner and which has worked with us to obtain materials such as membranes for fuel tanks, batteries and the insulation for hydrogen reserves, which must be at -253ºC.
Is that the biggest challenge?
Yes, because it has to be kept at that temperature during the nine days of the trip. A small part evaporates and that vapor is used in the fuel cell to make electricity and power the electric motor. The difficulty is that the plane must be built around hydrogen reserves. It will measure twice 10 cubic meters, because liquid hydrogen is light, but it takes up a lot of space, especially the insulation to keep it cold.
Your grandfather was a brave man and tested his own inventions, like the bathyscaphe... You, too.
The biggest risk is not flying with a hydrogen plane, but living in a world that burns a million tons of oil every hour, destroying the climate and biodiversity and polluting the oceans. That's dangerous, and it scares me. Flying on a zero-emission hydrogen plane doesn't scare me.
Auguste Piccard said that solar energy would one day replace fossil fuels, did he leave anything written about hydrogen?
No, I haven't found anything from my grandfather about hydrogen. But Jules Verne did write that one day we could use water to produce energy. He'll see, it's going to be an airplane with a very interesting design, with two fuselages and wings across.
What practical uses do all these projects have? In the end, the solar plane was a laboratory experiment.
Solar Impulse was something very symbolic. I wanted to revolutionize the world of energy, show the most efficient airplane that can exist by manufacturing its own electricity while it flies thanks to the sun. But it was a symbol. Instead, Climate Impulse aims to revolutionize the world of aviation, demonstrate that the most difficult sector of all can be decarbonized and send a message of hope. Demonstrate that there are solutions and create a project that is a flagship of climate action so that people who think there is no future see that we just have to build it, that the solutions are there. Because if this can be done with an airplane, it is clear that it can be done on the ground.
When do you think it will have a practical application in commercial aviation?
Airbus wants to have the first decarbonized aircraft powered by hydrogen in 2035. That is why it helps us with Climate Impulse, we are a test bed for them.
In his speech at the European Investment Bank Forum, he spoke of opportunities where others see problems.
What is not understood is that a large part of the solutions already exist. There are formulas that are profitable, but that pollute; There are things that are ecological, but too expensive, and everyone focuses on that, instead of looking at the intersection of the two circles, which is what is economically profitable and protects the environment. When I say it is profitable it is because it is efficient. The big problem today is waste of energy and natural resources. It's not just that it's bad for the environment, it's that it's horribly expensive. We must replace everything ineffective with what is effective. Before it was not possible, but today there are solutions and they allow you to make money. At the Solar Impulse Foundation we have identified 1,600 projects that are ready, but are not used because they are not known and no investment is made in them. I say investments because there is a return, because they are profitable. You just have to give a risk guarantee to households so that they can make the investment and return it thanks to the money they will save. You can also help the industry if you come with a solution and, at the same time, with the investment, so that they don't have to do anything; Everything is installed for them and then they recover the money with the savings made.
Some politicians now say that public opinion does not support the energy transition and its cost is beginning to be questioned.
I believe that the population is not well informed. It would be necessary to explain that the solutions are there and help invest in them, because they are profitable. We must help farmers do agrivoltaism, connect agriculture and agricultural production. Semi-opaque solar panels can be placed on certain crops that protect from the sun and excess rain and allow humidity to be maintained and electricity to be produced. . If you use it to raise lambs, you protect the grass from drought and can have four times as many animals. Instead of saying, 'no, no, let's stop talking about climate', we should do the opposite! Let's demonstrate how ecological action offers an economic return that will allow the farmer to earn more because he will sell electricity and increase yield by protecting crops. This way it will not have to suffer the consequences of climate change, which will be catastrophic for agriculture.
Why do not you do?
Because we are led by people who do not have the necessary skills to change the system, who want to do everything the same until the end of their days and, after them, the flood. We must demonstrate that the solutions exist, that they are there, that perfectly profitable investment funds can be created to do so, and combine climate action with economic competitiveness, with much less expensive and more efficient energy sources.
