Eindhoven students build solar-powered ambulance to bring medical care to remote areas

A team of students from Eindhoven has developed a solar-powered ambulance designed to bring medical care to remote areas where poor roads and limited fuel supplies make access difficult. The vehicle, named Stella Juva, will be tested in Kenya in August in cooperation with aid organization Amref.

Solar Team Eindhoven, the student group behind the project, said the “mobile clinic” is the world’s first ambulance that can both drive and operate using solar energy.

The ambulance is equipped with solar panels on its roof that generate electricity to power both the vehicle’s motor and the medical equipment inside. According to the student builders, the ambulance could travel up to 715 kilometers on a sunny day on paved roads.

The team previously competed in the World Solar Challenge, a solar car race across Australia from north to south covering more than 3,000 kilometers through the country’s remote interior. In another solar vehicle project, the students traveled more than 1,000 kilometers through Morocco and the Sahara.

The ambulance was created to address challenges faced by health workers in isolated communities. “Access to care should not depend on whether a power outlet or fuel is available,” Femke Maurits, who oversees partnerships at Amref, said in a statement Tuesday.

“In remote areas, health care workers sometimes travel long distances by bicycle, and reliable energy is not always available, even though it is essential for keeping vaccines refrigerated and using medical equipment.”