Solar Thrill: Using the Sun to Cool Vaccines

Using the sun to keep vaccines cool? It sounds like a contradiction in terms, but this is exactly the technology being developed by a partnership between UNEP OzonAction, UNICEF, the WHO, the Danish Technological Institute, Greenpeace, the German governmental group GTZ Proklima, the international nonprofit organization PATH, and the private sector companies Vestfrost and Danfoss. The SolarChill fridge requires no batteries or any other energy inputs to stay cool, so it emits no carbon dioxide. In addition, it requires little maintenance, is cheap to run, and uses no ozone-damaging refrigerants. It may sound too good to be true, but successful field tests have now set this technology on the road to WHO approval.