Andre Borschberg, 62, team leaders of the Swiss-made solar-powered plane, Solar Impulse 2, said it departed from the eastern Chinese city of Nanjing on Sunday morning to fly across the Pacific.

Borschberg said the Solar Impulse 2’s departure from China to Hawaii at 2.40am on Sunday came more than a month after it landed in Nanjing on the night of April 21.

He said the plane delayed its originally planned departure from Nanjing on May 5 as its two pilots waited for the right weather conditions.

He said: “The journey from Nanjing to Hawaii is expected to take six days and six nights.

“This is the toughest segment in its round-the-world trip.

“When the plane crosses the ocean, I will be able to nap for 20 minutes at a time, the maximum amount of time the solar plane can navigate automatically.”

Bertrand Piccard, the plane’s other pilot, said the plane was being powered by more than 17,000 solar cells installed on its wings.

Piccard said the Solar Impulse 2 was circumnavigating the globe to promote green energy.

Piccard said the solar plane has been featured in a number of events during its stay in China to promote new energy and materials.

He explained that the plane has 12 scheduled stops in the around-the-world adventure.

Piccard said after reaching Hawaii, the solar-powered airplane would fly across the US and stop in Africa before finally reaching Abu Dhabi, where it took off on March 9.

Xinhua/NAN.