CAPE TOWN: 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.
The 6,200km 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.
Researchers at South Africa's Stellenbosch University spoke to AFP at the launch of a documentary on the "Recharging Hope" expedition, which was carried out in partnership with a Kenyan electric motorcycle manufacturer.
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 1,009km 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.
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.
Electric car sales in Africa reached nearly 11,000 in 2024 - fewer than one percent of sales, according to the International Energy Agency.
In Europe, around one in 20 cars on the road is electric, it said.
The message was: "Generate local electricity from green resources," Booysen said.
"And we are blessed with an abundance of electricity that is green if we just install the infrastructure to do so."
