Together, we go further - Karlsruhe University of Applied Siences and Steinbeis Europa Zentrum cooperate in two major research projects with a focus on Africa

Together with long-standing partner Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences, Steinbeis Europa Zentrum is in charge of two technical EU research projects with a focus on Africa. In addition to European partners, the project teams work with research partners from seven different African countries (Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda).

With a start in October 2021 (funded under Horizon 2020), the SophiA project is exploring Sustainable Off-grid solutions for Pharmacies and Hospitals in Africa. SophiA will enable increased access to carbon-neutral energy for health facilities in Africa, thereby accelerating the sustainable development, growth and economic transformation, and ensuring improved access to energy and health services for all. SophiA will develop and locally manufacture innovative, modular, flexible, affordable and efficient solar powered containers which provide the supply of drinking water, hot water and steam production, cooling for the various applications in the hospital and emergency electricity power supply for surgical and intensive care units.

SophiA’s multifunctional systems will use photovoltaic panels, solar thermal modules, water purification and natural low global warming potential refrigerants in a cascade refrigeration system incorporating highly efficient thermal energy storage. They will be demonstrated in four rural health centres in different climatic regions in Africa: Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Malawi and Uganda.

The SophiA project is coordinated by the Institute of Refrigeration, Air Conditioning and Environmental Engineering under Prof. Dr.-Ing. habil. Michael Kauffeld. The Water Technology Group at HKA Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology, under Prof. Dr-Ing. Jan Hoinkis, is also involved in this project.

In the project, Steinbeis Europa Zentrum supports the coordinator and is responsible for administrative and financial project management as well as the management of intellectual property rights, technology transfer and the definition of exploitation strategies. It further supports with business plan definition, value chain analysis and knowledge transfer through building collaborations with other initiatives and EU funded projects.

Read more about SophiA 4 Africa

The PrAEctiCe project (funded under Horizon Europe) has just started (November 2022) and explores Potentials of Agroecological practices in east Africa with a focus on Circular water-energy-nutrient systems. To help East African smallholder farmers with their AE transition, PrAEctiCe will focus on quantifying impacts of current agroecological practices, providing evidence that AE is both sustainable and financially viable. The project goes beyond the existing indicator frameworks by putting the “concept into action” with a decision support tool for agroecology advisors supporting the selection of the best suited combination of agroecological practices in a local context. In addition, it puts a focus on circular water-energy-nutrient systems. Integrated systems of fish farming (aquaculture) and agriculture (Integrated Aquaculture Agriculture, IAA) play a special role here. The integration of aquaculture with crop production in mixed cropping systems is a key to sustainable agricultural production systems due to the ecological and agricultural added value.

The decision support tool will be validated in three living labs -focused on circular water-energy-nutrient systems of integrated aqua-agriculture- situated in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.

PrAECtiCe is coordinated by the Water Technology Group of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology under Prof. Dr.-Ing. Jan Hoinkis.

As a project partner, Steinbeis Europa Zentrum supports with the overall coordination of the project, dissemination and communication activities, exploitation of project results as well as data management.

Read more about PrAECtiCe