KenGen Introduces Car Charging Facilities as Kenya Readies for Electric Cars

KenGen is positioning itself to the possibility of the rollout of electric public service vehicles as Kenya eyes reduced reliance on diesel, the firm’s Director of Strategy and Innovation, David Muthike, said on Monday through a Webinar.

While electric cars are still a new concept in the country, it has been gaining momentum with a few electric car charging points available and only a handful of electric cars are available which are the Nopia taxi service cars. Scaling up the project will see KenGen’s efforts generate revenue later from vehicle owners who will require charging their vehicles but this is heavily dependent on the technology picking up locally.

“The case to have electric vehicles is there, and KenGen is ready to support that with renewable energy. On innovation, we are exploring to participate in the manufacturing, and we have rolled out charging infrastructure with a pilot within our premises,” Muthike was quoted by Business Daily.

With Ethiopia unveiling a locally assembled electric car, it is without a doubt use of electric cars is the next technology innovation to be adopted in Africa.

In western countries such as the Netherlands, Germany and the US, use of electric cars has gained momentum with the world turns attention to cutting down on carbon emission.

Nevertheless, the high price, energy-storing batteries and insufficient charging infrastructure have been cited as the main challenges for adopting and growing of the industry. About 98% of 2 million cars in Kenya run on petrol and diesel with Nopia ride taxi service currently running on electric cars.