Solar Impulse 2 will resume round-the-world flight after raising millions

The Swiss solar-powered planewhose record-setting, round-the-world flight was put on hold inJuly by weather and battery trouble has raised the $27 million ($20 million US)it needs to finish the trip, co-founder and pilot AndreBorschbergsaid on Monday.

Borschberg, at the United Nations' Paris climate summit withco-pilotBertrandPiccard, said backers that include chemicalmakerSolvay, Swiss lift makerSchindler,power grid maker ABB and Swatch's Omegabrand, made contributions.

• Solar Impulse 2 to stay grounded in Hawaii until next April at earliest
• Solar impulse 2 damaged after landing in Japan

Borschberg and Piccard had hoped to finish the 35,000 kilometre (21,748 mile), multi-leg circumnavigation in 2015, leaving fromAbu Dhabi in March.

First, crosswinds in China caused weeks of delays. Then, when its batteries overheated during a record-breaking five-day,five-night Pacific crossing from Japan to Hawaii in July, theplane was forced to winter inside a hangar at Kalaeloa.

"The financial side is under control," Borschberg, a formerSwiss Air Force fighter pilot and co-founder of Solar Impulse, told Reuters.

"We are all very focused and looking forward to continuingnext year," said the 62-year-old, who flies solo, alternatingbetween pit-stops with Piccard at the controls of thesingle-seat plane.

Solar Impulse's budget since 2004 is now some $227 million ($170 million US).

The plane has 17,248 solar cells anda wider wing-span than a Boeing747. Itweighs as much as a five-seater family car.

Borschberg said he plans to start test flights around Marchand, barring obstacles, the 4,000-kilometre (2,500-mile)leg from Hawaii to NorthAmerica starts in April, when daylight hours are sufficient torecharge the batteries.

Vancouver visit?

West Coast stops have been left open to accommodatepotentially fickle weather. Vancouver, as well as San Francisco,Los Angeles or Phoenix are all candidates, Borschberg said.

They also reckon on a U.S. Midwest pit-stop followed by NewYork's John F. Kennedy Airport, before crossing to either Europeor North Africa and, finally, Abu Dhabi.

"We know we can do it, but it remains a challenge,"Borschberg said.

He hopes a year's delay will not undermine the message heaims to spread at the Paris climate talks: deploying renewableenergy technology will help stop climate change.

"That's what we used to make it feasible to fly day andnight with the sun only," he said. "That's what we certainly
could implement on a larger scale."