By Tom Cheshire, Technology Correspondent
The Solar Impulse 2 is a plane that would - in theory - fly forever.
Unveiled in a hangar in Payerne, Switzerland, the aircraft will attempt to fly around the world using only solar energy.
The plane's cells and batteries are so efficient that it can fly through day and night, meaning no fossil fuels are needed.
"It could fly for weeks, even a year theoretically," its co-pilot and co-founder Andre Borschberg told Sky News at the official unveiling.
The only limiting factor is the human pilot, who needs to do human things like eat, sleep (in 20 minute bursts) and "take care of other duties".
Luckily the cockpit seat has a built-in toilet.
The plane flies over the Golden Gate Bridge on an earlier trip The two pilots - Mr Borschberg and Bertrand Piccard - will take turns flying the plane over short legs.
The longest leg will be over the Pacific, from Asia to North America, and take five days.
The project started in 1999, when Mr Piccard completed the first non-stop circumnavigation of the earth in a balloon.
He landed with only a few hours' fuel to spare, and vowed never again to travel such a distance with fossil fuels.
In 2003, he started the solar plane project and by 2009, the first prototype was flying.
The project started in 1999 The £75m project has tapped commercial partners for money and know-how.
The idea is that the technologies developed for the plane in the sky will trickle down into our lives on the ground.
For instance, the insulation for the cockpit developed by German materials company Bayer will soon be included in commercial fridge technology.
More efficient batteries and electric motors have obvious mainstream potential.
But although the Solar Impulse is an impressive spectacle and proof of concept, it will be years before the benefits really make it to market, and decades before we might see a solar-powered passenger airline - if ever.
Mr Piccard says Solar Impulse is just as much about "changing mindsets" as it is introducing new technologies.
The Solar Impulse sets off on March 1, 2015 - probably from somewhere in the Middle East - travelling around the world under the sun's rays.
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