Access to reliable healthcare remains a challenge in many rural parts of Africa, where limited electricity and clean water compromise medical services. The Horizon 2020 SophiA project has spent the past years tackling this issue head-on, providing solar-powered solutions designed specifically for remote healthcare facilities. Transforming rural healthcare with solar energy Across sub-Saharan Africa, roughly…
On 16 September 2025, prior to travelling to Gambia for the ESEF 2025 mission, the Director General of the International Institute of Refrigeration (IIR), Yosr Allouche, made a strategic stop in Dakar, Senegal. The visit aimed to engage with key Senegalese stakeholders who have shown strong interest in the outcomes and future collaboration opportunities of…
The SophiA project has entered an exciting new phase in Cameroon with the official inauguration of its sites, marking an important step in strengthening sustainable medical refrigeration in the country. Launch ceremonies have already taken place at the PVMEDPORT sites of Ekekam (9 September 2025) and Nomayos (11 September 2025), with the Edea site inauguration…
Following the conclusion of the two-day SophiA final meeting, participants enjoyed an enriching excursion on Friday to BITZER Headquarters and the SCHAUFLER Academy. The visit provided an exceptional opportunity to deepen their practical knowledge of refrigeration technology and safety practices. The day began with a warm welcome at BITZER Headquarters, where Volker Stamer presented an…
The final consortium meeting of the SophiA Project took place in Karlsruhe, Germany, on 17–18 September 2025. Partners, researchers, and stakeholders gathered to reflect on the project’s achievements and to discuss future perspectives for advancing sustainable healthcare solutions across Africa. Day 1 – Vision, Technology, and Policy The meeting opened with Professor Michael Kauffeld (HKA), who…
During a SophiA Training the Trainers session in Karlsruhe, participants from Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Malawi and Uganda shared the latest updates on national efforts to phase-out HCFC R22. The EU-funded “Sustainable Off-grid solutions for Pharmacies and Hospitals in Africa” (SophiA) project concluded on a final event on September 15-19, 2025, in Karlsruhe, Germany. The…
After participating in the project meeting (10-11 June) of the AGRI-COOL sister project in Vicenza, the IIR team travelled to Milan to take part in the 22nd European Conference, organised by Centro Studi Galileo on 12–13 June 2025 in Milan, Italy. This internationally renowned event brought together leading experts, researchers and industry professionals to explore…
On May 27–28, representatives of the SophiA project specializing in solar and cold chain technologies met in Rapperswil, Switzerland, with Dr. Bidjogo Atangana, Managing Director of the Ad Lucem Medical Foundation (Cameroon), Dr. Ina Colombo, Deputy Head and Coordinator of EU and international programmes at International Institute for Refrigeration (France). The discussions focused on finalizing…
We are pleased to share that Duc Dinh, Research Associate at the Institute of Refrigeration, Air Conditioning and Environmental Engineering (IKKU), Hochschule Karlsruhe, recently attended and presented at the 7th Conference of Electrochemical and Membrane Separations (E&MS 2025), held last week in Poland. More information about the event is available on the official website: https://emsp2025.pwr.edu.pl.…
SophiA participated to the final event of SESA and Energica, two of the Green Deal sister projects, titled: “Africa in Transition – a bright future for energy and local communities”. SophiA was represented by three partners: International Institute of Refrigeration, Institute for Solar Technology SPF – Eastern Switzerland University of Applied Sciences and Raach Solar.…
