The distance around the earth at the equator is roughly 24,901 miles. A group of scientists, engineers and boat builders are building a solar-powered boat that is designed to make a trip around the world in about four (4) months at a speed of 10 knots, using only power from the sun.

The catamaran-type vessel created and developed by Planet Solar, will be covered with over 5,000 square feet of photovoltaic cells on its 98 foot long hull. At a cost of about $13 million, this will be the most expensive boat of its type, but the real value is in proving it can be done.

A Swiss company, Rivendell Holding AG, is funding the Solar Planet project to make the point that solar power is worth the investment. Worldwide shipping lines are a large user of non-renewable, fossil fuels and could be weaned from carbon-based fuels to solar power once the viability of solar is proven.

An increasing number of pleasure boats and ferries are currently being operated on solar power all over the world. An earlier generation of solar powered boat has already crossed the Atlantic Ocean in 29 days. The Planet Solar project is expected to be the first in history to travel around the world completely on solar power.

Planet Solar looks like a combination of catamaran, speed yacht and fighter jet. It is being built in Kiel, Germany and will be ninety eight (98) feet long by fifty (50) feet wide when the solar panels are folded-in. When all panels are opened, the ship will measure one hundred fourteen (114) feet long by eighty two (82) feet wide. Planet Solar is expected to weigh-in at sixty 60 tons.

Skipper Raphael Domjan and Navigator Gerard d’Aboville will be the only crew aboard Planet Solar for this historic and scientifically-important adventure. The trip is planned to begin at Marseille, France and take Planet Solar across the Atlantic, through the Panama Canal, across the Pacific, through the South China Sea, the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea, through the Suez Canal and across the Mediterranean.

Once the around-the-world journey is successfully completed, data gathered by the crew will facilitate further research to improve the viability of solar power in commercial shipping operations. Ultimately, the advancement of solar power research will benefit all sectors of society and forever change the way we move ourselves and our products around the globe.