Dulas has been awarded £57,400 of funding from the Welsh governments SMARTCymru program, to support the development of its Solar Direct Drive Refrigerators. Dulas pioneered solar vaccine refrigerators in 1982, and has been a market leader in the technology ever since.
Keeping vaccines cool is a major public health challenge across the developing world, where a lack of electricity availability can mean vital medical supplies arent kept at sufficiently low temperatures to be fit for use. During the recent Ebola outbreak, Dulas provided solar fridges to Sierra Leone to support vaccination efforts.
Conventional solar powered refrigerators rely on large, heavy batteries for storing energy to run after dark or during cloudy weather. These batteries have a limited life and their replacement is frequently a difficult logistical challenge. With this in mind, Dulas identified a gap in the market and set about developing a battery free solar fridge.
This research and development process has been supported by the Welsh governments SMARTCymru program, and not only have these refrigerators now successfully exceeded stringent World Health Organisation PQS Standards but are also currently being shipped to remote regions in Honduras, Yemen, Afghanistan, Sierra Leone and Nigeria.
