A solar-powered electric motorcycle designed and manufactured in Africa began its 6000km journey from Nairobi, Kenya, to Stellenbosch in the Western Cape on Sunday. (Included)
A solar-powered electric motorcycle designed and manufactured in Africa began its 6000km journey from Nairobi, Kenya, to Stellenbosch in the Western Cape on Sunday.
Researchers from Stellenbosch University's Faculty of Engineering, in collaboration with Nairobi's Rohm, tested the Rohm Air, an electric motorcycle for use in urban environments.
Thinus Booysen, founder of the university's Electric Mobility Lab, which will be launched on October 18, said: “What we are doing is supporting cooperation and ingenuity in Africa, which is very exciting.'' I'm excited.''
“I know it’s strange to drive from Nairobi to Cape Town, but what we’re trying to do is send the message that electric mobility is possible and it’s possible with green energy. to send.”
His concern is that Africa is lagging behind the rest of the world and importing more cars from China.
“We are importing vehicles that are not built for our terrain. There are vehicles that do not necessarily meet our expectations, and if we continue to import vehicles we will lose local jobs. So this is us saying, “Wait a minute, there's another way to do this, and we're going to do it using green energy,” so that we don't destroy the grid and we don't rely on dirty energy. That's what I'm trying to do. It's energy, so to speak. ”
The electric bike, accompanied by two support vehicles, is scheduled to arrive in Stellenbosch on October 18, in time for the university's Electric Mobility Day celebrations. Part of the purpose of this expedition is to observe South Africa's Transport Month.
Rohm donated two electric motorcycles to the institute for research and testing. “I can't think of a better way to start a research collaboration than by testing motorcycles on land,” Booysen said. “It is a great honor to be able to do this within the fraternity of African ingenuity.”
The university and ROHM will jointly develop and apply research on electric vehicles and the ecosystem that supports them, including electric vehicle powertrains, local manufacturing, and digital pilots for electric urban mobility planning.
“This trip demonstrates Kenya's ability to design and locally manufacture world-class electric vehicles for African conditions,” Masa Kitui, ROHM electric motorcycle product owner, said in a statement. Ta. “This is a testament to regional innovation that is leading the way in sustainable mobility solutions.”
Kitui and Stephen Laycock, a PhD candidate and co-investigator on the project, riding bikes. “There have been other similar trips in the world, so it's not about whether such a trip is possible or not, but about African ingenuity and how Stellenbosch University and Rohm overcome the African situation with green solar energy. The focus is on showcasing cooperation,” Laycock said. .
Speaking about the trip from Nairobi, Booysen said: But the path is definitely safe. In fact, they told me they had never felt so safe since leaving the South African border. They are sleeping next to the road. And it's so beautiful…The most nerve-wracking part is crossing the border with expensive equipment. ”
The Stellenbosch University research team is also interested in determining the performance of drivetrains and replaceable batteries, as well as the effectiveness of solar charging solutions.
Booysen said electric bikes are becoming popular in Africa. “South Africa is actually quite behind. Most of the big cities in Africa have tens of thousands of e-bikes. We're talking about Benin, Togo, Nigeria, Kampala, Kigali.”
He recalled driving around Nairobi on Sunday, when the streets were filled with electric cars. “These are being driven for thousands of miles and this technology is definitely becoming more popular as people realize the benefits for the driver and obviously the cost benefits.
“But what no one talks about is the benefits of pollution. I'm not talking about the benefits of climate change. I'm talking about particulate matter and how much of that particulate matter is being polluted in African cities. about the health effects of inhaling it.
These cities are so polluted that people die every year. “From an African perspective, our greenhouse gas emissions are not as high as other countries in the world…but in terms of pollution, we face a huge challenge…that’s why, for me, electricity This is one of the key benefits of
South Africa is stuck on the slow lane path to electric mobility, Bouisedo said. I think we kind of dropped the ball because we were talking about electrical and load shedding and those types of challenges. We seem to have lost sight of the policy plan for the transition to electric mobility and the readiness of manufacturing. ”
More than 450,000 jobs in South Africa depend on the automobile production sector. “This should have immediately raised a red flag for all countries.” [we export to] “We don't need gasoline or diesel cars anymore,” he said.
Mr Booysen said the country was lagging behind because of poor policies and being led by people with “no vision and no political will”.
“You can see that the political will is not there either.” [other] Although it is an African country, regulations are not as strict. “People are taking advantage of the opportunity because regulations are lax,” he said.
The Nairobi to Stellenbosch trip is supported by Scatec, Balancel, Votspore, Trucks for Africa, Busch Rapa and the South African National Institute for Energy Development through the LEAP-RE project and Charlie's Travel.