Solar Impulse Foundation expands into US with new VP

The Solar Impulse Foundation, founded by Bertrand Piccard to promote financially profitable solutions for environmental protection, has named Alexandra Barraquand as U.S. vice president of business development and partnerships.

Barraquand first joined Solar Impulse in 2014 as a communication intern for Bertrand Piccard’s round-the-world flight in a solar-powered plane while working on her Physics degree from Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL). She addressed renewable technologies that made it possible to fly 25,000 miles without using a drop of fossil fuel. Barraquand earned her master’s degree in environmental technologies from Imperial College London and joined the Solar Impulse Foundation, founded in 2016, to bring profitable cleantech solutions “down to earth” to help governments and policy-makers meet deadlines for U.N. Sustainable Development Goals.

In her new role, Barraquand developed a methodology to evaluate scalability and profitability of clean technologies, with third-party validation by industry experts, to meet criteria for entry into the foundation’s 1000Solutions portfolio for profitable environmental protection. Qualified innovations receive no-cost support services from the Solar Impulse Foundation and the World Alliance for Efficient Solutions.

“The United States has very advanced and highly promising under-the-radar renewable technologies for infrastructure, agriculture, energy, mobility and manufacturing. We are excited to bring Alexandra to the US to help US cleantech innovators enter into the Solar Impulse #1000Solutions portfolio, supporting commercial development and policy changes to build a clean, circular prosperous economy,” says Bertrand Piccard, founder and chairman of the Solar Impulse Foundation.

Reach Alexandra at alexandra.barraquand@solarimpulse.com.