A Dutch student team unveiled what they believe to be the world’s first solar-powered ambulance on Tuesday, aiming to deliver medical care to the most remote corners of the globe.
The sleek white and yellow vehicle, named Stella Juva, features rooftop solar panels that power both its engine and onboard medical devices, including X-ray machines and defibrillators.
The two-seater ambulance reaches a top speed of 120 kilometres per hour and handles inaccessible off-road terrain.
On a sunny day, it covers up to 715 kilometres, while a solar-charged battery keeps the vehicle and equipment running at night or under cloudy skies.
“Stella Juva is fully equipped to deliver medical healthcare in hard-to-reach areas,” said project leader Mathijs van Gerven, a 21-year-old biomedical engineering student at Eindhoven University of Technology.
Rather than transporting patients to hospitals, the vehicle brings healthcare directly to them. It carries tuberculosis testing kits, cooled vaccine storage, and ultrasound equipment for pregnant women. The team plans to test the ambulance in Kenya next month.
Femke Maurits, Partnerships Manager at Amref Health Africa, highlighted the real-world urgency behind the innovation.
“The issue that many African countries have is that the distance between very remote villages and healthcare facilities is really big,” the 34-year-old said.
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