Solar Impulse (Si2), a Swiss long-range solar-powered aircraft project, will take off tomorrow (March 9) at 7:30 am (GMT+4) from Abu Dhabi, UAE, for the first round-the-world solar flight.

Ahead of its departure, Solar Impulse launched the #FutureIsClean movement to gather worldwide support for the use of clean energy.

The solar airplane will depart from the UAE capital and will stop in Muscat, Oman; Ahmedabad and Varanasi, India; Mandalay, Myanmar; and Chongqing and Nanjing, China. After crossing the Pacific Ocean via Hawaii, Si2 will fly across the US stopping in three locations – Phoenix, and New York City at JFK. A location in the Midwest will be decided dependent on weather conditions. After crossing the Atlantic, the final legs include a stop-over in Southern Europe or North Africa before arriving back in Abu Dhabi.

Swiss Explorers Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg, Solar Impulse founders and pilots, said: "Only a significant support will push governments to replace old polluting technologies with clean and efficient technologies. This is what we want to create through our solar powered Round-The-World Flight. If there are technological solutions to fly a plane day and night without fuel, imagine the potential of these technologies in our daily lives, to achieve energy savings and reduce CO2 emissions. This would help create jobs, develop new industrial markets while also protecting the environment”.

The platform www.FutureIsClean.org, was designed with the support of Google, the official internet and technology partner, and aims to mobilise individuals, organisations, celebrities and politicians to confront the Conference on Climate Change of the United Nations (COP21), which will define the new Kyoto protocol in December 2015 in Paris. The goal is to establish the largest petition ever created to convince governments to implement technological solutions that are necessary. Every site visitor is asked to add their voice to the message "I want concrete solutions for a clean future" and share amongst their networks.

Several pages of the site will be dedicated to organisations and influential personalities that are joining the movement such as Solar Impulse’s long-term supporters Prince Albert II of Monaco and Richard Branson, Masdar, Irena, New 7 Wonders and Green Cross International.

A global ranking is going to be organised within the community in order to valorise the actions realised by its participants: Invitation of friends, sharing on social networks, sending of photos, and promotion of the hashtag #FutureIsClean.

The platform #FutureIsClean is also accessible through the updated site www.solarimpulse.com, designed to follow the progression of the airplane Si2 during its travel around the world. Visitors and supporters of the solar project will have the chance to keep up to date about the flight path, its legs, as well as the life of the pilot on board. Users can directly live the adventure and follow the pilot in his conversations with the Mission Control Centre (MCC) in Monaco. Moreover, a virtual cockpit provides the telemetrics of Si2 (altitude, speed, battery level, equipment on board, etc.) and invites children and supporters to immerse themselves into the technical and human challenges that Solar Impulse embarks upon.

Chairman of Masdar and UAE Minister of State H E Dr Sultan Al Jaber, a patron of the movement said: “I am proud and honoured to be a patron of this imperative movement on behalf of the UAE and Masdar. The 'Future is Clean' is aligned with our country’s objectives, as Masdar and Abu Dhabi are committed to diversifying the global energy mix with reliable wind and solar power. The world has a shared responsibility – and collective action must be taken – to create a cleaner future. This movement, spearheaded by Solar Impulse, is one of the many ways we can attain our shared objectives and reach a sustainable tomorrow." – TradeArabia News Service