BARNEVELD: A Dutch student team on Tuesday unveiled what they believe to be the world’s first solar-powered ambulance, which they hope can bring much-needed medical care to the remotest parts of the globe.

The sleek, futuristic-looking, white and yellow vehicle boasts solar panels on the roof that power its engine but also medical devices from x-ray machines to defibrillators.

The two-seater ambulance, named Stella Juva, can reach a top speed of 120 kilometres per hour (75 miles per hour) and is designed for inaccessible off-road terrain.

With a range of 715 kilometres on a sunny day, the car has a solar power-charged battery to ensure the vehicle and equipment work at night or when it is cloudy.

“Stella Juva is fully equipped to deliver medical healthcare in hard-to-reach areas,” said project leader Mathijs van Gerven, a 21-year-old student of biomedical engineering at Eindhoven University of Technology.

The vehicle is designed to bring healthcare to the patient, rather than transport them to hospitals. It contains testing kits for tuberculosis, cooled storage for vaccines, and ultrasound for pregnant women. The team plans to travel to Kenya next month to put the car through its paces.

The innovation responds to a pressing real-world need, said Femke Maurits, Partnerships Manager at Amref Health Africa, a humanitarian organisation providing health services in African countries. “The issue that many African countries have is that the distance between very remote villages and healthcare facilities is really big,” Maurits, 34, said.

Published in Dawn, July 22nd, 2026