In an effort to promote alternative energy for ships, Swiss and German engineers are building a solar-powered catamaran that will try to circumnavigate the globe in a speedy four months beginning in 2010.
PlanetSolar, instead of running on fossil fuels or wind, will collect its power from a from a 470 square meter solar array. The power will then be used to charge a large lithium-ion battery pack that will drive the ship’s engines.
According to a U.N. study, 4.5 percent of greenhouse gases can be attributed to shipping, or over a billion tons of carbon dioxide - double that of aviation.
The panels on the ship will make it the world’s largest mobile solar array, according to the group, and the lithium-ion pack will be one of the world’s biggest moving lithium packs.
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http://www.consumerenergyreport.com/2009/03/18/solar-powered-ship-to-travel-the-world-in-120-days/
