Solar Impulse 2 successfully crossed the Pacific from Hawaii to San Francisco powered only by the sun

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A plane powered purely by solar energy has made another ground-breaking journey, crossing the Pacific ocean from Hawaii to California without the need for any traditional fuel.

The 62 hour journey across 4,000km came to a successful end, with Solar Impulse 2 landing at an airfield in California on Sunday morning. 

Pilot and co-founder of the project,  Andre Borschberg said: "This flight was a huge step in the adventure and Bertrand Piccard accomplished it like a professional pilot.”

Watch Solar Impulse land in California

The attempt at a round the world flight without fuel started last year. Due to damage to the plane's battery which caused overheating, Solar Impulse had been grounded but not before a five-day flight had gone down in history as the longest ever non-stop solo plane journey.

Ahead of this week's flight, Piccard, also a pilot and co-founder of the project, said: “An airplane with perpetual flight endurance, without fuel, like the Solar Impulse is not only a first in the history of aviation, but also in the history of energy."

"The primary purpose of this adventure is to demonstrate that modern clean technologies can achieve the impossible and encourage everyone to use these same energy efficient solutions on the ground in their daily lives for mobility, construction, lighting, heating, cooling and more.”

Google boss Sergey Brin was among those to meet the plane upon its landing in California.