Dr Bertrand Piccard, one of the Solar Impulse 2 pilots, which made global aviation history this weekend, will speak publically for the first time since breaking the world record at the upcoming Global Solar Leaders’ Summit in Dubai, UAE.

The summit will take place on September 14 alongside Gulf Sol 2015, which will run until September 16 at Dubai World Trade Center.

Dr Piccard will address participants of The Global Solar Leaders’ Summit, discussing the courageous journey of the Solar Impulse 2, his achievements so far and the future of clean energy. His keynote speech entitled “Pushing the boundaries of solar innovation” will highlight the potential of solar energy and ways to implement renewable energy systems in the future.

"Realizing a big dream requires ambition, planning, determination, courage and commitment, in my life, I have always sought to push boundaries and to question limitations,” said Dr Piccard.

“In this day and age we have seen technological advancements that previous generations could never have thought possible, and yet we still face barriers to harnessing the true potential of these innovations. Every hour, our world consumes around a million tons of oil, not to mention other fossil fuels, and last year carbon dioxide emissions exceeded 40 billion tonnes.

“Through Solar Impulse 2, we want to demonstrate that incredible achievements can be obtained with clean technologies, like flying day and night with an airplane consuming no fuel. I look forward to addressing participants at the Global Solar Leaders’ Summit in Dubai and imparting knowledge and stimulating debate around this pressing issue,” he added.

The plane, which took off from Abu Dhabi earlier this year, has logged 110 hours flying 7,200 km across the Pacific from Japan to Hawaii — the longest ever in terms of time spent in the air. The plane landed in Hawaii on Friday (July 3) after the four-day leg of its circumnavigation attempt.

Piccard will fly the next leg from Hawaii to Phoenix, Arizona, which is expected to take four days and nights. From Phoenix, Solar Impulse 2 will head for New York before heading back to the UAE.

Muhammed Kazi, senior project manager, Gulf Sol 2015 said: “We would like to congratulate Dr. Piccard on successfully breaking the world record; this news brings to light the fact that there are no limits to what we can do with solar energy.”

“The conservation of natural resources has become increasingly important and Gulf Sol 2015 will highlight the need to develop and implement renewable energy. This issue is particularly important in the Middle East where the UAE government has implemented a number of initiatives under UAE’s sustainability vision 2021, which seeks to plan a cleaner future,” he added.

The three-day exhibition will bring together key players in the solar industry across the Middle East and North Africa region. Dedicated to the solar industry, the exhibition is a platform to meet with the top global suppliers of solar products and services. The event will focus on raw materials, components and technology within the solar industry. – TradeArabia News Service