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Solar Impulse is the first airplane powered with solar energy only to fly around the world. It is not the first solar airplane (which was built in the 70s) but has been the first to fly through the night with a pilot on board. This case will show students the technical and business challenges encountered by Solar Impulse and how they were overcome. The Solar Impulse project’s strategic plan is envisaged. An engineering approach to the design of highly efficient electric aircraft, along with mechanical references to their structure, is proposed. Special emphasis is placed on energy storage systems and batteries, and the limitations of current batteries such as supply of raw materials, scalability of production or limited energy density are discussed. In addition, future battery technologies are evaluated in terms of energy and power densities, costs, maturity and current limitations. Knowledge of battery characteristics and limitations is necessary to evaluate the economic, environmental and technical viability of the transition towards a zero-emission aviation. With regard to the business approach, interest is devoted to innovation funding, project management and development of action plans for the technical approach. Battery-related deliverables are also proposed and conveniently detailed.