Article by Aniqah Majid
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.”
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.
Having proven its systems can operate for longer than a week, the company is looking to increase the airship’s longevity to several months.
Sceye is currently working on a pre-commercial test flight in Japan. Having secured US$580m of funding last year, the company are now exploring its airships for disaster and emergency response relief.
Article by Aniqah Majid
Staff reporter, The Chemical Engineer
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