Solar-powered airship reaches new heights

Aniqah Majid ~ The Chemical Engineer

AN AIRSHIP running solely on solar power flew over Brazil for more than 88 hours, marking a “defining step” for the technology.

Sceye, an aerospace and materials science company, has developed high-altitude platform systems (HAPS) which are able to fly to heights of almost 12,000 m in the stratosphere.

The airship is equipped with solar arrays to generate power during the day, which also charges 425-Wh/kg lithium sulfur batteries for night-time operation.

The vessel maintained its power, position and altitude while travelling 10,300 km from New Mexico to Brazil.

Mikkel Vestergaard Frandsen, CEO of Sceye, said: “This is the defining step toward unlocking the stratosphere as a new layer of infrastructure.”

Smart materials
Sceye’s airships feature several design properties suited to stratospheric travel, including a hull skin the company claims is five times stronger than materials typically used for airships and solar array cells 53% lighter than conventional equivalents.

Flying at stratospheric altitude enables a range of applications, including real-time emissions monitoring, as the vessels can be equipped with sensors that can monitor methane and greenhouse gases in real time.

Read original full article by Aniqah Majid:
https://www.thechemicalengineer.com/news/solar-powered-airship-reaches-new-heights/