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| E-scooters and e-bikes in Kigali, Rwanda. Credits : Guraride |
Electric mobility is a recent phenomenon in Sub-Saharan Africa. The situation is gradually evolving with the introduction of electric two- and three-wheelers such as bikes, tricycles, motorcycles as well as buses and cars. Some specific examples include Nopia Ride’s electric taxis and Opibus’ electric motorcycles in Kenya; Guraride electric bicycles in Rwanda; Kira motors’ electric buses in Uganda just to mention a few. The transition towards electrification is a complex process requiring deep multi-stakeholder collaboration. It can be argued that the introduction of new mechanisms such as e-mobility within the African context can potentially add stakeholder complexities to local systems and, run the risk of being contested on various levels (Paulssona, Hylandera, & Hrelja, 2017). However, the benefits of introducing electric mobility powered by renewable energy far outweigh these risks.
It is important to mention that the introduction of e-mobility within the African context is not aimed at completely replacing existing transport mechanisms but instead providing additional sustainable alternatives to systems that are already greatly deficient. It is imperative to explore how electric vehicles can play a part in accelerating the transition to a more sustainable transport sector within this region. As a new phenomenon, the need to draw lessons from other regions of the world that have had more experience with e-mobility and make the necessary adjustments to suit the African context becomes is thus needed.
The geopolitics of fossil fuels vs batteries cannot be ignored or down played as both present controversial aspects. Fossil fuels are known to contribute to the increase of emission related impacts such as climate change, acidification, eutrophication, ozone depletion, and particulate matters (PM). Production of e-vehicles, on the other hand, uses scarce materials for batteries and fuel cells, and sometimes includes unsustainable methods of mining, production and transportation of materials (Borén & Ny, 2016). E-mobility therefore does not necessarily reduce the conflict risk that is associated with dependence on fossil fuel resources such as oil.
There is still risk for conflict with the uptake of e-mobility since the needed resources such as cobalt, lithium and platinum (for batteries) are also limited in their global distribution. Once more, e-mobility within the African context should not be seen as a complete replacement of fossil resources but a diversification of the resource-energy mix. This is an important point to make since many countries in the region still have unexplored fossil deposits which could have positive economic value for these countries if directed to other sectors such as construction.
In a study carried out under the GreenCharge project in Sweden, a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of internal combustion engine (ICE) cars which includes both petrol and diesel cars, plug-in hybrid cars, battery electric cars and hydrogen fuel cell cars was conducted to compare and quantify environmental impacts of each. It was found that fossil fuel vehicles had considerably higher environmental impacts compared to electric cars as long as the latter are powered by renewable energy (Borén & Ny, 2016). Consequently, for e-mobility to be a suitable strategy for long-term sustainability of the transport sector in Africa, it is necessary for the energy mix to draw from renewable energy sources such as hydro-electric power, solar power and geothermal energy. Retrofitting of existing vehicles with batteries will be an added advantage for the region as the purchasing power of the region may not enable the procurement of brand new e-vehicles whose prices are still comparatively high. In view of creating a circular economy, it will be important to explore second and third-life use for batteries then finally proceed to recycling of batteries.
Africa has a vast potential for renewable energy and a willingness to grow in this direction. The Africa Clean Energy Corridor (ACEC) is a regional initiative to accelerate the development of renewable energy potential and cross-border trade of renewable power within the Eastern Africa Power Pool (EAPP) and Southern African Power Pool (SAPP). A similar initiative is on-going in West Africa as the West Africa Clean Energy Corridor, a regional initiative supporting the creation of a regional power market in the West Africa Power Pool (WAPP) (IRENA, 2019). The uptake of e-mobility as a transport strategy will therefore have a positive impact on the energy sector and possibly other sectors. Transport is a component of a wider sectoral ecosystem. This means that for the sustainability changes in the transport sector to be ‘future proof’, all other relevant sectors such as industry, energy, agriculture, physical planning and society will need to also undergo similar changes.