The world’s first solar-powered ambulance has officially taken to the road, in what has been described as an “important first step towards the future of sustainable healthcare”.
Students from Solar Team Eindhoven at Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands have developed Stella Juva – a road-legal ambulance that operates as an electric vehicle (EV) powered by fully integrated solar panels.
Energy generated from the sun is stored in a 50 kWh battery, allowing the ambulance to safely keep driving and deliver healthcare in remote areas – which often lack reliable infrastructure, electricity and fuel options – even when the sun has gone down.
Unlike traditional ambulances that pick patients up and transport them to a hospital, Stella Juva brings healthcare directly to people in need.
“When a healthcare professional arrives at a dispensary, they are able to extend solar panels from the side of the ambulance,” Yarno Basten of Solar Team Eindhoven tells Euronews Earth.
