Originally planned with Raphaël Domjan, the expedition was ultimately carried out by sailor Alain Blanc, as Raphaël was unfortunately unable to participate.

In the spirit of the SolarArcticPassage mission undertaken in 2015—during which Raphaël became the first person to navigate Arctic waters using solar energy—this new adventure pushed the boundaries even farther south. Alain Blanc navigated the icy waters of the Antarctic Peninsula aboard Raphaël’s solar-powered kayak, becoming the first person to use solar energy in the southernmost waters on Earth.

The PlanetSolar Foundation was proud to contribute to the environmental component of the Antarctic Explorers expedition, which brought together several renowned explorers during the austral summer of 2019–2020, including sailor and mountaineer Éric Loizeau and polar explorer Laurence de la Ferrière.

In addition to achieving this world first, Alain Blanc’s solar kayak journeys provided valuable solar radiation data to support the research and development projects led by the PlanetSolar Foundation. These data usefully complement those collected in 2015 during the SolarArcticPassage through the Northwest Passage.

You can relive the expedition through the updates posted on the PlanetSolar Foundation’s blog, as well as via the real-time tracking of the expedition vessel.