The Antwerp University Hospital (UZA) is the first in Belgium to use a fully-electric ‘mobile urgency group’ (MUG) in the shape of a Mercedes EQV, which has been fully equipped to be as efficient as possible to work with and to save lives.

The UZA was the first hospital to use a MUG service, where an emergency doctor is part of the mobile response team to increase the chances of survival during life-threatening situations. Now, the university hospital is innovating further by inaugurating the first ‘e-MUG’, a fully-electric response vehicle to cut back on CO2 emissions.

Enough space for equipment and four people

The vehicle of choice is the Mercedes EQV, the electric version of the V-Class passenger van, which has a usable range of 315 km thanks to its 90 kWh usable battery. It is big enough to carry all of the necessary equipment and four passengers: an emergency nurse, a doctor, and up to two medical students.

A plug-in hybrid was also considered but was rejected due to the impracticality of having two drivetrains. Charging is provided by a charger at the UZA emergency room or via public quick chargers nearby. Most of UZA’s MUG operating area is quite close to the hospital, however.

Special attention has gone to the efficiency of the e-MUG, with motorized sliding doors for quicker ingress and egress, optimal placement of medical backpacks, and temperature-controlled storage for sensitive medications. The emergency lights flash white and blue during the daytime, as this is more visible from a greater distance.

The UZA’s MUG personnel is also getting specific training in ‘electric priority driving’ to reach the scene of the emergency safely with this 3 085 kg e-MUG vehicle. There’s also AI-based software on board to assess driving behavior. The total cost of the vehicle, including conversion, was 155 000 euros.