An electric motorbike, designed and built in Africa and powered only by the sun, is set to tackle the road from Nairobi, in Kenya, to Stellenbosch, South Africa, in October.

Researchers from the Faculty of Engineering at Stellenbosch University (SU) have joined forces with Roam, an electric mobility company in Nairobi, to test its electric Roam Air, used largely in urban settings.

It is believed to be the first time that an electric motorcycle developed in Africa will be covering the roughly 6 000 km with only solar power as an energy source.

Accompanied by two support vehicles, the Roam Air will leave Nairobi on September 29, and is expected to arrive in Stellenbosch on October 18, in time for SU’s Electric Mobility Day.

“Roam donated two of its electric motorcycles to our group for research and testing,” says SU Electric Mobility Lab founder Professor Thinus Booysen.

“We cannot think of a better way to kick-start our research collaboration than testing the motorcycle overland.”

Researchers at the newly founded Electric Mobility Lab at the SU Department of Industrial Engineering are focused on Africa’s unique modes of mobility, and specifically the infrastructure and operational changes required to make electromobility work.

Together, SU and Roam intend to develop and apply research on electric vehicles (EVs) and their supporting ecosystems, including, but not limited to, electric motorcycles, EV powertrains and local manufacturing.

“This journey showcases Kenya's ability to design and locally manufacture world-class EVs for African conditions,” says Roam micro mobility product owner Masa Kituyi.

The motorcycle is to be piloted by PhD candidate and co-researcher on the project, Stephan Lacock, as well as Kituyi.

“The emphasis is not on whether such a trip can be done, as there have been other similar journeys in the world, but rather to showcase African ingenuity and the collaboration between SU and Roam to overcome African conditions with green solar energy,” notes Lacock.

Among other goals, the SU research team aims to observe the performance of the drivetrain and the use of swappable batteries, as well as the efficacy of the solar recharging solution.

The Electric Mobility Lab will be launched on October 18 at Asara Wine Estate, near Stellenbosch, where a retrofitted 65-seater electric bus will be handed over to Golden Arrow Bus Service.

The trip from Nairobi to Stellenbosch is made possible by the support of Scatec, Balancell, Voetspore, Tracks for Africa, Bush Lapa, SANEDI, through the LEAP-RE project, and Charlie’s Travel.