This is how solar is powering Africa’s charging stations

From the newsletter

South African energy company STS Tech Group has launched a smart EV charging service for Cape Town. The company has built charging infrastructure for the city, which will use both grid-supplied electricity and solar power. STS says the smart charging service will supply solar power to charging stations during the day and the grid when supply from solar gets depleted.

• Charging companies across Africa are building solar power units to power EV charging during the day and store excess energy for use at night. This is helping to reduce the cost of energy and guarantee supply during power cuts.  

• Solar photovoltaic and battery costs have fallen by about 90% in the last decade. The price decline will likely continue, boosting further investment in solar by EV charging companies on the continent in the coming years. 

More details

• Michael Leighton, STS’s Chief Technical Officer, explained how the technical setup works for such a large operation: “This specific project involved increasing the City of Cape Town supply from 1 MW to 3 MW, redesigning the infrastructure and metering onsite, with new EV chargers monitored through smart systems, controlled to not charge during peak times. During daytime charging, the chargers make use of energy produced from the onsite solar.” 

• South Africa’s notoriously unreliable electricity supply has accelerated investment in renewable energy for EV charging. Companies like Zero Carbon Charge are establishing solar-powered charging stations in remote areas, serving off-grid customers. The company targets to install 120 such stations in the country, which has less than 500 EV charging stations compared to nearly 4,000 fuel service stations.  

• The use of solar energy for EV charging is gaining traction across Africa, which has abundant sunshine all-year round. In Kenya for example, electric motorcycle and charging company Ampersand is partnering with companies like TotalEnergies to use their existing solar-powered service stations for its battery-swapping network. This week, Spiro, another electric motorcycle company, partnered with the Catholic Church to roll out solar-powered swap stations across Kenya. 

• In September 2024, Ampersand also partnered with CrossBoundary Energy on a pilot solar EV charging project in Nairobi. The setup includes 36 charging units, 150 lithium-ion batteries, and is supported by a 37 kWp solar PV system. In Nigeria, MAX unveiled West Africa’s first solar-powered EV battery swap station. Equipped with a 20 kWp solar array, 24 kW inverter, and a 30 kWh battery bank. Meanwhile, in Rwanda, Kabisa launched the Kabisa EV House in Kigali for charging, powered by solar panels. 

• Despite a reduction in the cost of solar panels and batteries, charging companies still require major capital investments to establish solar-powered stations. This is a tall order for many African charging companies, which are struggling to raise capital from investors. At the same time, solar power remains intermittent, and its best use is when it can be combined with supply from the grid. 

• Africa’s EV charging market is projected to continue its rapid growth trajectory. Revenue is expected to grow from about $109.7 million in 2023 to $560.5 million by 2030. Battery swapping will continue to dominate as electric motorcycles flood the continent’s roads. While more than 80% of electric car charging takes place at home, the increasing electric car sales in Africa will spur investment in fast public charging stations. 

Our take

• The high capital costs and intermittent nature of solar power, combined with the unreliability of many African grids, will drive charging companies to adopt hybrid models like the one launched by STS Tech Group. This will be a more viable and scalable strategy than fully off-grid or fully grid-dependent stations. 

• The high initial capital investment required for solar-powered stations remains a significant barrier for many African charging companies. For the market to reach its projected growth over the next few years, the funding challenge must be addressed. 

• Solar-equipped homes and businesses like large manufacturers that have already invested in solar energy to power their operations can make the leap to electric mobility faster. As Ampersand and other companies have shown, partnering with such businesses can help them scale charging faster.