Cape Town - Zero Carbon Charge (ZCC) is among the organisations that have welcomed the release of the electric vehicle (EV) White Paper by Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Ebrahim Patel.
According to Patel the paper outlines a comprehensive EV roadmap for South Africa and the structure of a suite of policy interventions tailored to the automotive industry.
ZCC said the release of the White Paper signalled that the government was serious about South Africa’s transition to EVs and offered some much-needed policy certainty on the way forward.
Although welcoming the release of the paper, ZCC co-director and founder Joubert Roux said they believed that the paper's focus on capacitating and greening the existing grid would unnecessarily delay the transition to EVs.
He said, instead, the focus should be on immediately developing off-grid EV charging stations based on renewable sources, such as the solar-powered facilities that were starting to roll out across the country.”
“Zero Carbon Charge is already building, at scale, 120 charging facilities based on 100% renewable energy.
“Each Zero Carbon Charge charging station, spaced approximately 150km apart, will generate electricity on-site using solar PV. Energy is stored in lithium-ion phosphate batteries, with generators fuelled by hydrotreated vegetable oil as a backup power source,” said Roux.
Patel said the primary goal of the White Paper was to set a course to transition the auto industry from primarily producing internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles to a dual platform that included EVs in the production and consumption mix alongside ICE vehicles in South Africa by 2035.
“It is a product of constructive engagement with stakeholders, including within the government, industry, and labour, to chart a viable and sustainable transition path for the industry,” said Patel.
He said the White Paper presented a comprehensive, co-ordinated approach to the transition to minimise the perils of an unco-ordinated transition.
“It draws on extensive international and domestic research and consultations, spanning from 2019 to 2023. It is grounded in the principle that decarbonisation should not lead to de-industrialisation but rather be leveraged for growth, deepening the automotive value chain, fostering the growth of the local industry, and ensuring the transition aligns with economic priorities,” Patel said.