Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg celebrate travelling 24,500 miles without fuel
The plane, Solar Impulse 2, touched down in the United Arab Emirates capital this morning.
It first took off from Abu Dhabi on March 9, 2015, beginning a journey of about 40,000 km (24,500 miles) and nearly 500 hours of flying time.
Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg, the Swiss founders of the project, took turns piloting the aircraft, which has a wingspan larger than a Boeing 747 but weighs no more than an average family car.
I'm sure that within the next 10 years we'll see electric airplanes carrying 50 passengers on short- to medium-haul flights.
Piccard, who piloted the plane on the last leg, told a large crowd on landing: “More than an achievement in the history of aviation, Solar Impulse has made history in energy.
“I'm sure that within the next 10 years we'll see electric airplanes carrying 50 passengers on short- to medium-haul flights.”
The plane took off from Ab Dhabi last March
He said the technologies used on Solar Impulse 2 could be used on the ground in daily life to halve emissions of carbon dioxide.
The propeller-driven aircraft's four engines are powered by energy collected from more than 17,000 solar cells built in the wings. Excess energy is stored in batteries.
The pilots said that the technologies used on the Solar Impulse 2 could cut Co2 emissions
Unfavorable weather at times hindered smooth flying, causing the plane to be grounded for months in some countries. In all, the plane had 16 stopovers.
The pilots also had to demonstrate the mental stamina required to tackle vast distances alone at a cruising speed of no more than 90 km (56 miles) per hour and altitudes of up to 9,000 meters (29,500 feet).
The Solar Impulse 2 was the brainchild of Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg
Mr Piccard said: “We were facing the oceans... We had to build up this mindset, not just the plane and technology.
For the two pilots, landing back where they started is only “the beginning of the continuation” of a longer journey, said Piccard, who in 1999 became the first person to circumnavigate the globe non-stop in a hot air balloon.