African solar motorbike trek shows EV promise

A 17-day journey by solar-powered motorbike across six African countries highlights the potential for EV travel on the sun-drenched continent, researchers said Thursday. The 6,200-kilometre (3,800-mile) trip from Kenya to South Africa last year showed such a journey was feasible in Africa’s often rough conditions, with limited infrastructure and energy constraints, they said. It was believed to be the first time an African-built electric motorbike had driven through sub-Saharan Africa or over that distance, Electric Mobility Lab researcher Stephan Lacock told AFP.

The team had “the unofficial world record” of covering 1,009 kilometres in one day, he said. The Nairobi-to-Stellenbosch journey — which also passed through Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia and Botswana — was entirely powered by energy from 10 solar panels and a battery pack. “One moment you’re 2,200 metres above sea level in banana farms and coffee farms and the next moment you drop down into the Serengeti and it’s these long, lush grass fields,” Lacock said.

Rainstorms in Malawi, hail in Tanzania and thunderclouds throughout presented challenges, he said. The project had chosen to test a motorbike because this is the predominant mode of transport in sub-Saharan Africa. But it had also looked into electric minibus taxis, said researcher Thinus Booysen.

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South Africa, the most industrialised country on the continent, is falling behind in terms of electric mobility, with countries such as Nairobi, Uganda and Rwanda progressing faster, Booysen said. Reasons include South Africa’s own production of fossil fuel-powered vehicles for export, he said. It also has fewer charging points and its electricity grid is both “slightly fragile” and ageing.

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