We visit South Africa’s first completely off-grid EV charging station
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 11 ก.พ. 2025
- Zero Carbon Charge recently launched South Africa’s first-ever off-grid electric vehicle charging station - and the company has aggressive plans to cover South Africa’s national roads with a network of 120 such stations in the next 12 months.
TechCentral recently attended the launch of the first station - 20km outside Wolmaransstad on the N12 between Johannesburg and Kimberley.
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....been delaying buying my next car since i want to get an EV, but this changes everything for me! Great Job and very encouraging indeed!
I'm so glad someone finally decided to make video coverage i've been following the articles and this just solidifies it. Thanks techcentral.
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Me too I’m very excited as well about this video
Casually charging a RR in the middle of nowhere. 😅
🤣🤣🤣! Was thinking exactly the same thing!
Tesla has plans for a similar EV charging concept called "Oasis" - the first location is Lost Hills, California. Well done CHARGE you are leading the way!
And they said it will not work in South Africa. Eskom is not the be all and end all. We can do it without them.
I wonder if these charging stations even work
The most important Q wasn’t anserewd. Charge COST per KW?
I believe it's around R8/kWh for the DC chargers
Yikes, thats expensive.
And how many km per KWh?
@@dk.6505km on average I believe. Depending on the vehicle. So an average cost of 65c per km, compared to a diesel vehicle on the open road maybe around R1.50.
@@credex1 Not bad at all!
We still paying for the Desilination Plants,yet our water issues not resolved,but we still paying the water levies which was intoduced as day Zero was approaching,and it's still approaching.
How long does it take to charge our vehicle? Did you compare it with putting petrol in your car?
Depends on the car you have, different cars can charge at different rates. Most can do 0-80% in under 30mins
Not enough panels to charge 6 cars at full charging rate. Chances are that they will utilising that diesel generator on site more than they planned. How inefficient. I am assuming that container has some battery storage. Does the diesel generator charge that batteries too?
The chances of having six cars there at the same time is slim to none. But as the tech guy says near the end, the energy is stored in batteries. Its not going directly from the panels to the charging stations.
Jepp you have sun nearly everyday for 8-10h. But you wont have 6 cars at full charging speed for 8-10h a day, even if there are 6 cars itll will be for about 30min to 1hour.
So a loooot room in the battery storage
You're a definition of king negative. Everything I've achieved in life became possible because I refused to listen to people's negative opinions and the very same people came back to me and asked me how I did it. You think this station is going to be like this forever without improvement?
Can I open a bar and restaurant at a charging station. Drivers must stay hydrated and nourished.
Would need a B & B too considering it would take a week to gain a charge of any significance to proceed on the LOOONG journey ahead.
@@godfreyberry1599 What are you talking about? Most EVs charing on a DC fast charger as shown in this video will charge in under an hour with Porsche Taycan getting 400km of range in 30mins.
@@godfreyberry1599
with your mindset, i can see that you need a week's time to make a decision like going to the toilet!
It still uses a backup diesel generator to iron out the flatspots with it's solar/battery delivery.
I will only be convinced when someone manages to build and run one of these things without a drop of diesel coming into the equation.
it is possible to do no worries.
but
that few times where the battery runs out and there is no sun, it is not worth the ammount of solar panels and batteries.
Why not build a solar car port for shade instead of the sink dakkie?
@johanmalan9319 Yes, that is what I am saying. The curved roof is not a good idea.
Because of theft. The panels are put behind an electric fence.
This is the beginning and it is the first in SA, Rome doesn't built in a one day big thing of such is still on the way. Well done who master mined this initiative🙏💖🇿🇦
I like the idea of using it as a canopy. I am sure some security can be arranged and it can keep the correct angles and give full shade over entire charging area.
This is brilliant! We need more companies who think like this, well done!
How many vehicles can that small solar array realistically charge though?
Cars use a lot of energy. Panels don't supply that much.
As the tech guy says at 17:00 the energy is stored in batteries, it doesn't go straight from the panels to the cars. That way, you can harvest throughout the day and use it 24/7. There is space for six cars. So six at one time.
@Buffalohump77 yea and a containerized battery stores about 900kwh and an EV around 75 average, so they can charge 12 cars and then have to recharge that massive battery with that tiny solar array.
@@decommonifyable That's right. You think they would've invested all this money if it didn't work?
@@Buffalohump77 yes it seems like an investment grab.
You'd need about 370 500w panels to charge that containerized battery once per day. I count about 950 panels therefore you they can charge that battery about 2.5 times per day. So charge about 30 cars per day on a sunny day with completely optimal timing of cars arriving and leaving and allowing for the main battery to charge up.
At R3.50 per kwh, that's R265 per car so call it R8000 per day. So almost 3m per year. So probably a viable business but not even going to come close to replacing petrol stations.
Go stand on a one of our main roads. We get 30 cars passing every couple minutes.
Anyways I like the concept I just don't think it's big enough to be a viable solution to replacing internal combustion vehicles.
@@decommonifyable You're not taking into account the fact that technology doesn't stand still. It's constantly improving. Solar technology as well as battery technology. Besides, the concept is about providing options in places where connecting to the grid might not be feasible or the best option.
But what about the thousands of tonnes of emissions that go into mining everything to build these " green " sites. 🙄🙄
Oil is mining, it has to keep happening for every fuel burning vehicle worldwide. This builds an infrastructure that uses sunshine.
What about them?
I can't believe this is financially viable. Please show us the financial model without tax payer funded grants.
Please point to the moment where they say its taxpayer funded.
Change is difficult to accept but it can't be stopped. Profit will come after 3 to 5 years at least
@@Buffalohump77 4:32... pretty far down the track with DBSA and other green funds... or something like that.
What inverters and batteries are they using here?
How do you charge off grid at night?
Harvested energy is stored in batteries. Same way the EV's energy is stored in a battery. Holy crap, this really isn't difficult.
@@Buffalohump77 I know how batteries work. That battery bank must be huge. Day light harvesting is an easy one but storrage is another story when EV's becomes a popular choice.
@@D30N64 The batteries are being topped up constantly. Sunshine is available every day 8 hours a day in most locations. That's why it's such a great resource. Also, this won't be the only charging station on the whole route. They said they want to do one every 150kms.
This is genuinely a great idea. I just hope as they grow that they'll be able to maintain the stations and have proper security.
Expanding out EV infustructure was always gonna be done by the private sector but i hope the government can assist in this aswell while also encouraging more EV sales llike they do in the US. Of course that means reducing the high tax on EVs and Hybrids for starters
Govt is incapable of doing anything that helps the average citizen, as we well know. They STILL haven't even managed to level the playing fields by making import duty the same for EVs. One suspects they are very much against the switch to EVs, which isn't a surprise, given how much tax income they earn from petrol.
@Buffalohump77 Yes they are incapable. But on the subject of if their willing to lower the import duties for EVs idk But I've read that the reason its high in EVs was because they didn't want all the EVs further overwhelm the grid since loadshedding was a thing. But since LS isnt supposedly a thing anymore some buyers can confidently buy EVs now and more manufacturers can import their EV options. We're seeing it with the Chinese brands already, VW plans to give us their ID cars in 2025/2026.
Hopefully more investment to the infustructure comes aswell as EVs get better.
@@Galaxyeyez I highly doubt they will overwhelm the grid. Its still a fraction of car sales. Govt is either too lazy or they don't want to lose revenue from petrol sales. It constitutes a vast amount to the fiscus. And Eskom could really use the income, given they still hundreds of billions in debt.
@Buffalohump77 I see. They should still get rid of the import duty tho.
Idk if these privat companies should put pressure or the manufacturers should (with EV sales falling globally as of late).
Hope there's security looking after everything
Some really lovely copper for the taking.
I was worried about the same thing. Lol
I wonder how the US or the EU deal with security at charging stations
@@Galaxyeyez
the worry here in australia is not the stealing but the vandalizing. in some towns in the outback they don't repair charging stations because they get instantly destroyed again.
HOW LONG DOES A CHARGE TAKE!? HOW MANY ACCOMDATION NEARBY!!??😢
Well Wolmaransstad is only 20km away. Usually charging, depending on the car, will take 20-40 minutes for what you need. I you want for some reason to charge from empty to full maybe hour to hour and a half?
How many ev cars are charged per month?
I agree with Andries, the increase in EVs over the last two years is noticeable. It used to be that seeing one was a rare occasion, if I saw two a year it was a lot. Suddenly in the last two years, I see them daily. In my home town (Somerset West) there are at least 8 to 10 that I see quite frequently. There is a BYD Atto 3, a Dolphin (less than 1km from my house), a Mini Cooper SE, the local Rola Volvo dealer has an EX30 running around, there is an XC40 recharge as well. The largest group, however, is the little gang (myself included) of BMW i3 drivers, most of them BEVs, but I know one is a Rex. I spoke to the owner 🙂
I saw my first Volvo EV in the wild last week and two weeks before that saw a GWM Ora. And prior to either of these i saw a government owned Nissan leaf 7 plus years ago.
The adoption rate is slow as hell but at least its still growing. If Eskom or private companies like this restore our faith in the grid's reliability than im sure EV sales could explode.
What's the generator doing there?
Probably bad weather
for when the sum don't shine. Maybe they can frack for geothermal to power to be completely fossil free
Ah, backup. Makes sense
Doesn't really have to be 100% fossil free.
EV's dont make sence al all. Who will buy your 2nd hand EV from you in 5 years time with an old battery? The are not green.
Great! Now we just need more affordable EVs. Make them simple, but with decent range.
It looking like we'll be getting a R300k +/- EV soon but from the looks of it the range can only get u around town.
Just hope they remove the high import tax on EVs soon
why u not use roof as solar panel roof
did you see the size of the arrays?
How long before this is completely stripped to the barebones?
You're right, let's stop developing altogether ... in case the criminals steal it.
Someone charging a whole RR Spectre like it's normal
Great idea. But perhaps not all that it seems? I agree totally insufficient panels. Frankly a bit of a con job i think. I had very good experience a week ago driving pure electric from Somerset west to Knysna and back. Rubicon and Gridserve seem to be building and supporting a well managed network. I normally keep my electric cars charged by my own home solar system.
Great idea to be 100% off grid, and environmentally friendly.
Cannot wait to be in the middle of nowhere so i can wait 45 minutes to charge my car.
Best of luck! In the end it's all about cost-benefit. Will the investors get their money back? How are being catered for night time and cloudy days? Diesel?
This is where the potential for EVs is so much more exciting than ICEs. You could never do this with an ICE. With the solar coverage we have in SA, we can easily roll these out across the country's main routes and you never need worry about the price of petrol again.
.... and the exorbitant price of Eskom electricity???
@@godfreyberry1599 As this concept very clearly shows, you don't have to pay Eskom prices for electricity. And if you don't want to pay for it at home, chuck some solar panels on your roof. Same concept!
How long does it take to recharge? I bet it can't beat 10 mins pitstop Jhb to Cape Town.
Well it depends how many cars are charging cause I think its shared charging so it splits the power, but they said 480kw tops. Currently Evs with the latest 800v charging architecture can top up a 100kwh+ battery in about 15min which about 500 - 550km. But I don't think it matters cause typically when the charging infrastructure is good you stop more than once ideally on long trips during bathroom break for about 5 min to top up the battery which the car plots itself. The biggest problem from what I've seen is chargers being down or the actually charging cable being rated lower than what the station itself can output but we'll have to wait and see. Hopefully too they divide the charges with lower rated power stations being seperated from high power rated stations so older evs and hybrids can charge there and avoid taking up fast chargers for cars that can actually utilize it. (also most ev's you can input your trip data and the time you want to arrive at a place and it gives you range data, when to charge etc so you don't even need to think that much)
@@Sushi_219I think you meant 800volt
@@thetad1242 sorry yes 800volt
Well you stop plug in and then go do all the other stuff, like grabbing a sandwich and go to the bath room. With a petrol car you have to fill up and pay and then park and do all your other stuff. I do not believe their is going to be much of a difference in travel time. Maybe an hour on Jhb to CPT.
Wonderful initiative! Good luck with this amazing new company!
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Where to invest !
Very interesting
This is fantastic, all the best.
Will your stations also be listed as EV stations on map programs?
Probably be listed as copper black holes.
This is all great until the panels and copper cables go missing …then what ???
Very few EV's in SA, even less in that bundu area!
What does that proof! Also, 480 kW is F-all! One require 250kW/h per car, at a multi-point charge station! Thus the capacity required for only two cars charging at the same time is 500kW. Most EV's can now handle 150-250kW/h charge capacity, and that will come at a curve, meaning it can't charge at that rate through-out the complete charge range. But if two or more vehicles are plugged in, one will be required to supply 500kW or more!
Also, why not use the area of the roofs over the charge area for the solar panels? I'm convinced one will have to ensure a mixed supply to cover night and bad weather times!
Battery probably there for night charge, Gen for bad weather. At least they took the initiative to start, we're far behind other countries. So it counts a lot in my opinion.
You seem upset.... 🤣
@@francoisdupreez9754 Don't waste your breath. A lot of people just hate change, no matter what form it takes.
Do it better and let’s see
U sound upset and just criticise… do it yourself!
@@francoisdupreez9754 They are NOT the first!!!
Hopefully the major Chinese EV brands are watching this. Huge opportunity in SA. What you waiting for.
SA ends up with all the TEMU junk AGAIN. When will we ever LEARN.
Two months then all those panels are gone
Not even. Tonight or tomorrow all gone without a trace.
Rethink the way you charge your EV. Charge stations take long to charge and think about the influx . You fix that you get the bag. Now what about the taxi industry????? Taxi man wants to make money quick.
Eskòm will definitely want to ban this. "We are incòmpetent and còrrupt, so why would we let you pròve this".
Not a place i would like to be sitting like a duck with my family waiting for a charge, in this country of ours 5 mins at a petrol station ,get in get out as fsdt as possible. My little Baleno with a 37 liter tank can give 500kms, getting more economical and lighter as it use its fuel, the ev must carry that extra 400kgs on special tires and will never get lighter until its trash.😮
Sun powered, what happens when it rains for the whole week or in winter. This idea is for short-term solution but going off-grid is no child's play. We need an unbiased evaluation and research.
What godawful resolution is this video in? South Africa's EV charging goes a few years forward, but its videos are still in the mid noughties.
Very glad,when it comes to safe our planet, definitely, doesn't matter what others say,God gave us this planet,to protect it,where will we go,this is our home, should've done it from day one!!
Duncon Who?
It's an excellent business proposition, but EV adoption is still in its infancy. Large multinationals still spend billions on crude oil exploration projects in SA waters, "as we speak."
Suid-Afrikaners gaan in die toekoms gedwing word om EV's te koop in die sin dat ICE- motors gaan te duur word en petrol nog duurder. Volkswagen in Duitsland is op sy knieë. Ander motorvervaardigers wat aan ons bekend is, sukkel ook. Alles a.g.v. EV's.
No EV for me, thank you. I'm not playing with the WEF agenda.
Time to form a substantial anti EV lobby before all the SINS OF THE WORLD get dumped on SA.
OK boet, you stick with the OPEC agenda.... sounds about right for you.
in the end, there can be only one
Now all we need are some affordable EVs!
This is great 😀
Everyday I thank Eskom's dire inefficiency for preventing the insane roll out of the EV FARCE in South Africa. Probably, as is normal practice, Africa will be the new dumping ground for unusable and over produced technology which will only EVER serve a niche market - PERIOD.
Now, those copper cables will be stolen soon.
Hoe lank gaan dit hou want hierdie land se mense het geen respek vir die land se goed.
Daar is altyd negative nancy in die comments. Kan fokkol bydra tot die verbetering van die land nie, al wat jy het is klagtes. Gaan kla in Europe.
Honest opinion, I dont think this is about EV charging its rather about carbon credits earnings.
I give then 100% for boldness, though not much is said about business model 🕵️♂️.
Due-diligence consideration are important in carbon credit markets, particularly also given the rise of scams and fraudalent activity in this space with some audit companies. 🤐🤐🤐
Why TF in the middle of nowhere?
Horses 🐎 we will go back to horses 🐎 😄.
Or oxen.
That will get stolen in no time.😢
One thing South Africans have an abundance of is "FOMO",rather put solar on your roof,than being stuck on the national road cause your 2 ton Willard Battery is not kick-starting the motor🤣
Then a shawarma shop.
Now that the rest of the world stopped buying EVS SA jumps on the bandwagon.
Agree. Fools born ever day and we're up there with the BEST.
I would look into this some more. EV adoption globally is only going up. Once business start doing the math on the savings there is a huge shift. Prices of EVs in SA aren't there yet but will be soon.
@@ShaneFromSA Going up only with government regulations and incentives not because people want it. Trump will change that in the US and Europe will suffer lack of sales since people don't want them. Governments can only force people to buy things for a time.
It's all bull sh*t
Green energy. .......😂😂😂😂
Really?🤭
Well done. I hope this works and thrives.
People must watch overseas ev flop,south africa behind ,fine for city driving not long journey s.also coppercables at charging stations in England been cut and stolen.
Lies there is Ac there
Just what I need to see as an EV owner...🎉
Better consider charging heavy duty trucks.
th-cam.com/users/shortsGa4X8Rl-bx0?si=O9AeH5XxGlwe4zGh
Sigh.. not going to happen. Hybrids aren't a transition phase, they're the end phase. The idea that electric cars will take off here in SA are is the height of stupidity... and there is no fixing stupid.
Until you have owned one
Mark, I'm glad to see you're rich enough and dumb enough to support this industry! I do about 4000 km per month in a vehicle that does 6 l per 100 km.. let's say R5000 diesel per month, or R60k per annum.. and you want me to buy even the cheapest EV at around R800k!? And even if I got my charge for free, I will still be paying nearly 10 years worth of fuel savings to afford an EV! I can't get over the dumb fks that don't get this amortised econometric reality!
@@brucemanning6473Absolutely - Mark must take the long walk to reality.
@@brucemanning6473 You aren't the target for the EVs available in SA yet. Lets say you were playing on buying a car for R800k, Diesel or Electric, that changes things because now an EV offers R69k of savings per year.
You not going to like what i say but it is good you are using solar and not wind energy,
but why EV will not be the same as a combustion engine, the problem is we can not build fool proof.
and electricity is also not fool proof that is why this fool can create more energy out than you put in
and it dont matter if it is grid power or solar power, for a nice ROI you need customers and making profit.
that brings you to the cost of charging and like this i only have to look to labor cost and how far they have to drive
to charge in a town or near a town is a better way to make profit and your question why not that is because
most EV cars will be shopping cars,But time will give the answer to that now is only counting what will be
the ROI and how can you make the customers happy with low cost, look to this do you care that customers
coming to charge and go home to connect there home to the car for energy no it dont matter you are selling
energy if they are happy you are happy and this is not only for the EV but it is good for hotels and other places
who do not have the space for this solar panels, and energy is this stupid you not charging the car
but you charging the batterys and they do not have to be in a car that is why i say the EV is not 100 % fool proof.
and efficient but calculate your self if you can make from every kwh 3 kwh what that to your ROI is doing.
for what i do the ROI will be 1 year and if i can do that that will change the ROI from all other material your using.
and when the sun is going down you need to use your storage that is for you a problem not for me because
i use also storage but take from it and charge it i see you as a bar some were in the midle of no were
with only 1 or 2 customers every day just happy to pay the rent for your loan if that happens you have the place
for your own fun like some one bruwing his own drinks,it are the numbers that creating a business.
and profit will make a investment wise or not
Slim slim ek is die skim en daar verkoop ek my kubis aan die dom ding 😂😂😂😂