The SophiA project has reached a major milestone with the official inauguration of the container installed at Mua Missionary Hospital in Malawi. This event marks a turning point for the facility, which now benefits from sustainable energy and technology solutions dedicated to support healthcare services.
In the days leading up to the ceremony, Olivier Schmid from Hochschule Karlsruhe (HKA) worked alongside hospital staff to carry out the final technical adjustments. These included improving mobile signal reception for the decentralised pharmacy, reprogramming the battery system’s IP, optimising the configuration of photovoltaic panels and commissioning the water chiller. These preparations ensured the smooth integration of the system within the local community.
On the day of the inauguration, numerous guests gathered to celebrate this achievement. Father Isaac, the hospital’s director, summed up the collective sentiment with a simple statement: “Today, we made history at Mua Hospital. We cooked with the SophiA systems. Excellent work!”
The installed technologies bring multiple tangible benefits. The Scheffler reflectors with automatic solar tracking, developed by Simply Solar, allow cooking directly with solar energy, providing a clean alternative to gas or firewood. In addition, the PVsteamCube – designed within the SophiA4Africa project and tested by SPF Institut für Solartechnik – supplies steam for cooking and sterilisation both day and night. This device combines high-temperature thermal energy storage with photovoltaic supply, ensuring reliability and sustainability.
Electricity, refrigeration of medicines, heating, safe drinking water, cooking and sterilisation: these essential services are now available thanks to the intelligent solar solutions implemented. Mua Hospital thus becomes a concrete example of SophiA’s ambition: to deliver innovative, off-grid technologies tailored to hospitals and health centres in remote areas, sustainably improving the quality of life for patients and healthcare workers alike.
