Airbus Foundation joins forces with Solar Impulse Foundation, boosting climate action
Partnership will lean on Airbus’s satellites and helicopters expertise, supporting innovators to advance aerospace-related projects with positive environmental impact.
Left to right: Guillaume Faury, Julie Kitcher and Bertrand Piccard. Source | Airbus
The (Toulouse, France) and have launched a 3-year partnership aimed at driving global progress on sustainability through fostering innovation and collaboration. The partnership is dedicated to identifying and accelerating the adoption of scalable nature-based projects that address pressing global challenges.
Through the partnership, successful applicants will have access to a wealth of resources including Airbus’s aerospace capabilities, like satellite data for Earth observation and helicopters for efficient aerial assessment and verification. These capabilities will enable the selected projects to address critical societal issues, from ecosystem degradation to water security and natural disaster risk to solutions like satellite environmental monitoring systems.
The Solar Impulse Foundation is an environmental non-profit project founded in 2003 by Bertrand Piccard in collaboration with the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, Switzerland. More recently, in early 2024, the Climate Impulse project — an emission-free project involving a green hydrogen-powered airplane that can fly non-stop around the world — was revealed by Piccard. The flagship aircraft is backed by Syensqo (Brussels, Belgium and Alpharetta, Ga., U.S.) as the main partner, and will be built in France by composites engineer and navigator, Raphaël Dinelli.
“By combining aerospace technology with nature-based solutions, we can turn innovation into impact,” notes Piccard, Solar Impulse Foundation chairman. “Our partnership with the Airbus Foundation demonstrates how advanced capabilities like satellite imagery can help restore ecosystems, support economic development, and build climate resilience where it’s needed most.”
Solar Impulse Foundation will deliver expertise in identifying, assessing and promoting nature-based solutions to achieve the greatest impact. It will provide access to an extensive network of cleantech organizations and play an advocacy role in engaging with decision-makers to promote sustainable policy change.
“Using Airbus’s expertise in satellites and helicopters, we’re committed to empowering innovators and researchers to develop solutions that address pressing environmental and social challenges,” adds Julie Kitcher, Airbus chief sustainability officer and chair of the Airbus Foundation. “The Solar Impulse Foundation has a high level of expertise in supporting climate projects and through this partnership, we are aiming to create new pathways for innovative projects to increase climate resilience and support local communities.”
Starting April 1, the two foundations will begin actively seeking proposals that can benefit from aerospace capabilities to promote nature-based solutions. The selected projects will receive €10K in seed funding and have access to technical expertise to help accelerate their impact.
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