The Climate Impulse project introduced two new institutional partners at the World Climate Conference COP31 in Antalya. The Global Renewables Alliance (GRA) and the Green Hydrogen Organisation (GH2) are joining the initiative, which aims for a nonstop circumnavigation of the globe with an electric aircraft powered by green liquid hydrogen. The project is led by Swiss cleantech pioneer Bertrand Piccard and navigator and composite engineer Raphaël Dinelli.
Ten years after the solar-powered circumnavigation with Solar Impulse, Piccard, together with Dinelli, plans a route of 40,000 kilometers in nine days – nonstop and emission-free. The aircraft is to fly with renewable electricity, stored on board as green liquid hydrogen and converted back into electricity for the electric motors via fuel cells. No combustion takes place. According to the project, the fuel cells used are expected to be significantly above the market average.
Energy Chain Argument for Renewables and Hydrogen
For the GRA, which brings together industry associations from the fields of wind, solar, hydropower, geothermal, green hydrogen, and energy storage, the entire energy chain of the aircraft forms the connection point: Without renewable electricity, there is no green hydrogen and thus no emission-free flight. Bruce Douglas, CEO of the GRA, also joins the project as one of the first ambassadors.
"It is solar or wind energy that will fill the tanks of Climate Impulse in the form of green hydrogen, where batteries would be too heavy to power the electric motors during a nonstop flight with zero emissions around the world," said Piccard. With the GRA on board, it becomes clear that clean energies can also be stored in the form of hydrogen. "And if we can do it in the sky, no one will say it's impossible to do the same on the ground."
Douglas stated that the flight does not prove the impossible, but the inevitable: "Renewables, efficiency, and electrification are not three separate goals, but one system, and Climate Impulse will make that visible to the world." Governments should accompany this momentum with corresponding investment commitments.
Green Hydrogen for Hard-to-Decarbonize Sectors
The GH2, itself a member of the GRA, aims to accelerate the production and use of green hydrogen as a building block of the energy transition. According to the organization, batteries are mainly suitable for light transport, while green hydrogen is crucial for heavy applications such as aviation, shipping, and steel.
"Green hydrogen is essential to decarbonize the sectors that are hardest to decarbonize, from shipping to steel and fertilizers, and the time to scale it up is now," said Joe Williams, CEO of the Green Hydrogen Organisation. Every project using green hydrogen helps build the confidence of investors and policymakers.
Flying Laboratory with Institutional Support
According to the project, the aircraft is also intended to serve as a flying laboratory and test technologies that could later be used in aviation, heavy transport, shipping, and the energy sector. Climate Impulse is under the patronage of the European Commission. Main partners are Syensqo, the OCP Group, and the Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P), official partners are Breitling and Orange. The circumnavigation is planned for 2030, according to the project.
The GRA was founded by, among others, the Global Wind Energy Council, the Global Solar Council, the Green Hydrogen Organisation, the International Geothermal Association, the International Hydropower Association, and the Long Duration Energy Storage Council. The GH2 is a Swiss foundation with locations in Geneva, London, Cairo, Jakarta, Nairobi, and Oslo, and also serves as the secretariat of the Africa Green Hydrogen Alliance.
