Nairobi, Kenya: Long dominated by diesel trucks and hampered by unreliable power grids, Africa's freight corridors are emerging as a new frontier in the global shift toward clean logistics, with solar-powered charging hubs designed specifically for heavy-duty electric trucks.
In Africa, Cape Town-based Zero Carbon Charge, or Charge, is leading the technology. It follows global models such as WattEV in California and Germany's Daimler Truck and Volvo joint venture Millens, which has built solar-powered truck charging hubs to support high-capacity freight charging.
Charge is installing two completely off-grid, solar-powered electric vehicle charging stations between Johannesburg and Durban along South Africa's busiest freight and passenger corridor, following a pilot that successfully charged a heavy-duty electric truck using only solar power.
The rollout along the 570-kilometre (354 mi) N3 highway – a major artery linking the country's economic hub to its main port – is supported by a US$6.2 million (RM24.34 million) equity investment from the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA). The funding announced last July was conditional on the company building off-grid charging infrastructure every 150 kilometers (90 miles) on national roads.
Charge said both stations will be completed by June, making long-distance EV travel possible on one of South Africa's busiest transport routes.
Joubert Roux, co-founder of the company, said the next phase will focus on the N1 corridor connecting Johannesburg and Cape Town, expanding off-grid, ultra-fast charging on South Africa's main long-distance routes.
Each off-grid site costs approximately US$1.25 million (RM4.91 million).
“This investment allows us to move from a pilot project to a full-scale rollout,” Roux said. “We have proven that it is possible to fully charge electric trucks using solar energy, and now we are building the infrastructure to do it commercially and reliably.”
Charge successfully demonstrated its ability to combine clean energy with freight transportation in January when it simultaneously charged two heavy-duty electric trucks supplied by China's SANY Trucks with a four-passenger EV.
Other clean transportation companies in Africa have focused mostly on electric motorbikes. Kenyan companies such as Spiro and Ampersand have integrated renewable energy into parts of their battery-swapping infrastructure, especially outside major cities. However, they are hybrid systems rather than completely off-grid solar networks designed for heavy trucks.
EV imports into South Africa are increasing, but charging infrastructure is limited and largely concentrated in major cities. Heavy-duty electric trucks face additional hurdles due to higher energy requirements and a lack of high-capacity charging sites, while national utilities struggle to meet demand.
“Our vision is to create energy-resilient charging hubs that are not dependent on unstable grids,” Roux said. “By combining solar and storage, we can provide predictable, clean energy for the fleet.”
Roux said the adoption of electric freight technology still faces a number of risks, including regulatory delays for site approval, high import duties, truck certification requirements and limited vehicle availability.
“Fleet operators are under pressure to decarbonize, but they need commercially viable solutions,” Roux said. “This investment helps us deploy infrastructure for logistics, mining and long-distance transportation. We believe this model can reduce emissions while strengthening energy security.” – AP