Switzerland’s first zero-emission plane, the Bristell Energic, took to the skies back in June. Developed by Swiss tech start-up H55 in Sion, the fully electric plane is being used by trainee pilots for test flights. One of the men behind it all is co-founder and CEO André Borschberg, the pilot of the famous Solar Impulse project, where he flew the longest-ever nonstop route around the world in a solar-powered aircraft. In part one, he talks about the impact of H55 technology on the aviation industry and the future of mobility.WATCH MORE
How European airlines get it wrong, according to Helvetic Airways CEO
European airlines could stand to learn from their U.S. counterparts, says Helvetic Airways CEO Tobias Pogorevc. Their business models, he adds, give them more flexibility and reduce complexity. In part two, Pogorevc talks about how Europe can push ahead in the global airlines industry and how Helvetic is leaning more toward a wet lease model.
Helvetic Airways CEO confident about new fleet despite A220 comparison
Helvetic Airways unveiled the new Embraer E190-E2 aircraft to its fleet today. CEO Tobias Pogorevc says the investment will “transform us to a more modern, environmentally-friendly airline.” The recently grounded Swiss A220 flights contained similar engines, but Pogorevc remains confident that the rollout of the new vessels won’t be impacted.
Europe, not U.S. or China, has the AI advantage, says tech VC Khaliq
Europe was an early leader in artificial intelligence and despite great strides made in the U.S. and China, top tech investor Siraj Khaliq says the advantage still belongs to Europe. In part two, he talks about his run at Google when it was still just a start-up, about his own start-up being acquired by Monsanto, and stresses that the only way to have diversity in the tech world is to force the issue.
No “magic pixie dust” in Silicon Valley, says tech venture capitalist
Some Swiss tech start-ups look to Silicon Valley as the ultimate goal. “But there’s nothing you can do in the Valley that you can’t do here,” says Siraj Khaliq, investment partner at Atomico, an international tech investment firm. Khaliq has invested in three Swiss start-ups, including Teralytics and Scandit, and praises Switzerland’s unicorn potential but points out some crucial stumbling blocks.
H55 CEO: “If you think about failing you will never make the right decision”
In the final part of her interview with Swiss pilot and entrepreneur André Borschberg, Ana Maria Montero steps into the cockpit of the Bristell Energic, the fully-electric plane from his start-up H55, to hear about that famous Solar Impulse flight and what it taught him about being an entre
Climate change goals set in Paris were “not enough,” says H55’s CEO
The goals set by countries to mitigate climate change, including the Paris Agreement, are too far away, according to H55 CEO André Borschberg. “It’s great to have a vision for 2050, but we should set goals in two years, in three years, in five years so that people will fight for that,” he says. In part three, he talks about making sustainability more attractive and addresses the tech world’s own sustainability conundrum.
Money and innovation aren’t the biggest hurdles, says Borschberg
Flying taxis, autonomous flight, electric-hybrid commercial airplanes: though it may seem like science fiction, great strides are being made in aviation. But according to H55 CEO André Borschberg, without certification it’s all a pipedream. “Companies don’t realize the difficulty of coming up with the certification,” he says. H55 is inching toward having the first-ever certified electric propulsion system in the world.
