Press Release

Swiss to unveil world’s first solar powered aircraft at
World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi

·        Walter Steinmann, State Secretary of Energy and Director of the Swiss Federal Office of Energy, will be a keynote speaker

Abu Dhabi, January 13, 2010 – The delegation attending the World Future Energy Summit from Switzerland will be unveiling the first ever solar powered aircraft.  Bertrand Piccard, President and Pilot, Solar Impulse, will be exhibiting a model of the solar powered aircraft at the event later this month in Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Centre.

A Swiss pavilion will accommodate many of Switzerland’s leading renewable energy companies who will be there to showcase the latest products and solutions of the renewable energy sector.

Industry leaders including Alstom, Oerlikon Solar, and Pramac will be part of the Swiss pavilion. 3S Swiss Solar Systems together with ABB, an active player in the ambitious Desertec project, will attend the Summit and share their latest products and solutions.

Wolfgang Amadeus Bruelhart, Swiss Ambassador in Abu Dhabi, commenting in the Swiss presence at WFES, “I’m pleased about the strong presence of a Swiss delegation and Swiss Cleantech companies at the WFES 2010. I’m looking forward very much to meeting Mr Bertrand Piccard again, President of Solar Impulse, who said recently: ‘At each major premiere, the adventures of the last century pushed back the limits of the impossible. Today, human and technical inquiry must go on, with a view to improving the quality of life for humanity. By writing the next pages in the history of aviation with solar energy, as far as a flight around the world without fuel or pollution is concerned, Solar Impulse’s ambition is to contribute in the world of exploration and innovation in the cause of renewable energies’.”

Walter Steinmann, State Secretary of Energy and Director of the Swiss Federal Office of Energy, will be among the keynote speakers at the first plenary forum, which will bring together Energy Ministers to discuss their countries’ blueprints.

Hans B. Püttgen, Director of the Energy Center at the Swiss Institute of Technology EPFL will be chairing a session on “Energy Evolution – The Future Energy Mix”, and Professor Reza Abhari, Director of the Centre for Energy Conservation at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich) will address the need to pursue R&D and innovation by chairing a session focused on “Pursuing Innovation – The key role played by research and development in winning the future energy battle.”

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About WFES:

The 3rd edition of the World Future Energy Summit will be held from 18-21 January 2010, hosted by MASDAR, at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre under the patronage of HH General Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces

World Leaders, Policy Makers, Experts and Investors from 100 countries will meet in Abu Dhabi to identify real solutions for today's climate change and energy challenges. Over 600 exhibitors from 50 countries will be exhibiting at the World Future Energy and Environment Exhibitions on a total space of 40,000sqm offering an unrivalled business and networking opportunities to over 20,000 attendees expected to visit the summit and the exhibition.

Deutsche Bank Climate Change Advisors is the principal sponsor of WFES 2010. Emirates Aluminium is Associate Sponsor, and Platinum Sponsors include BP Alternative Energy, Standard Chartered, Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Authority, Exxon Mobile, ABB, Oxy, the Abu Dhabi Department of Municipality Affairs and Terna.

For more information on the programme or to register, visit www.worldfutureenergysummit.com

About DBCCA:

DB Climate Change Advisors group (DBCCA) is the institutional and alternatives investment management business of Deutsche Asset Management, managing assets of institutional investors and high net worth individuals. DeAM is one of the leading climate change investors in the world, with approximately $4 billion under management as of March 2009.  With a world-class in-house research team focusing on this theme, DeAM is an investment industry thought-leader on a broad range of climate change dynamics.

In June 2009, DBCCA launched the world’s first scientifically valid, real-time carbon counter, a nearly 70-foot-tall digital billboard displaying the running total of long-lived greenhouse gases in the atmosphere in New York.  The Carbon Counter Number is available 24 hours a day at http://www.know-the-number.com and updates are available at ttp://twitter.com/knowthenumber

For more information:

James Hawksworth

Sr. Account Director

Asda’a – Burson Marsteller

Tel. +971 2 6334133

Fax +971 2 6334137

Email: j This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it