SophiA – Sustainable off-grid solutions for pharmacies and hospitals in Africa

SophiA aims to provide sustainable, off-grid and resilient energy supply and clean drinking water for rural and remote health facilities such as pharmacies and hospitals in Africa. This is intended to give as many people as possible better access to medical care. The main idea is based on compact technical modules that can be pre-installed in a container and used on site. For this purpose, innovative, modular, affordable and efficient solar-powered systems are developed and manufactured. SophiA combines various technologies such as photovoltaics, solar thermal energy, electrical and thermal energy storage, efficient water treatment and cooling machines with natural refrigerants that have very low greenhouse gas potential and do not result in trifluoroacetic acid TFA, a PFAS, as a degradation product in the atmosphere. TFA is contaminating our surface waters and groundwater - our drinking water sources - for many thousand years.

The first generation SophiA consists of a solar cooling container and a solar water container – two reliable, modular plug-in solutions that can be easily integrated into existing buildings and infrastructures.

The containers supply hospitals and other healthcare facilities with:

• Clean drinking water, free of bacteria and viruses
• Hot water and steam for sterilization and/or cooking
• Cooling systems for medicines (+5°C), blood plasma (-30°C) and vaccines (-70°C)
• Cooling of food (when needed)
• Cooling of surgical or intensive care units

Additionally, the «PVmedPort», a 100 percent solar-powered, mobile and multifunctional health station, is being developed. The PVmedPort can be used in the most remote regions under various climatic and geographical conditions. It supplies electricity, offers shade and can also be expanded into a small station for vaccinations or information campaigns.

Know-how transfer and training of local experts

SophiA systems are mainly manufactured in Africa. After the systems have been developed by the consortium and built by the SophiA partner Everflo in South Africa, they are gradually installed in four rural hospitals on the African continent and evaluated via monitoring. Installations are planned in hospitals in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Malawi and Uganda. In Burkina Faso, the containers have been successfully in operation at the Sedogo Hospital in Léo since May 2024.

In addition to the technical developments, one focus of the project is on building capacity and qualifying students, above all from the local African population, and also from the two partner universites in Switzerland (OST) and Germany (HKA). The transfer of know-how is ensured by several Train the Trainers programs, like the one from February organized at OST or the one from June 2024 from Burkina Faso. To promote the development of highly qualified workers and increase the opportunities for sustainable development locally, local spin-off/start-up companies are specifically involved.

The SophiA consortium: SPF develops the heart of the system

With a cooperation of 13 participating universities, institutes, manufacturers and organizations from Africa and Europe, the project stands on a solid scientific, social and implementation-oriented foundation. The four-year project is supported with eight million euros by the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program. 

SPF Institute for Solar Technology at OST coordinates the entire solar technology work package and develops the heart of the system: the overarching, smart control strategy SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition), which communicates with the individual components, decides whether energy is produced, stored, or distributed and controls the very different technologies. SPF also coordinated and carried out the life cycle analysis (LCA) of the first generation SophiA containers. The LCA of the SophiA systems won the Best Poster Award at the International Sustainable Energy Conference (ISEC) 2024 in Graz.

Furthermore, SPF is strongly committed to the training of European and African students and local specialists.

Patent application for PVSteamCube

One of the innovative developments from the project is the high-temperature heat storage system «PVSteamCube», which is charged with electricity from photovoltaics. Steam can be used to operate washing machines, to cook or to sterilize medical devices. Sterilization with steam is an environmentally friendly alternative to chemicals. SPF extensively tested in OST Campus Rapperswil the performance of the first products developed by SophiA partner Simply Solar and worked with the company to optimize them. During the development of the PVSteamCube, great importance was also placed on safety: the metal cube reaches temperatures of 400 degrees on the inside, but remains at a maximum of 30°C on the outside. In addition, steam is produced at close to ambient pressure. Simply Solar has filed a patent application for the PVSteamCube.

More information on the SophiA 4 Africa website.

Contact: Mihaela Dudita-Kauffeld

Suitable study program at OST: Bachelor's degree program in Renewable Energies and Environmental Engineering