What Could Ethiopia’s EV Transition Mean For Batteries?

The EV transition is a big driver of battery production and a boost for the industry from the top of the supply chain and the processing of raw materials, all the way to the dealer and aftermarket sector.

On a national and international level, the transition has been largely cautious, fearful of taking the wrong step and choosing the wrong path when it comes to energy infrastructure. This is why some EV companies are hedging their bets with battery swapping alongside rapid charging stations.

Some countries have taken much bolder steps than others, however, and one country that provides a potential vision of the future of transportation is Ethiopia in East Africa.

In a country where taking a big step into a brave new world is unquestionably the only option, Ethiopia provides a vision of the future for drivers, manufacturers and the wider industry.

The Mother Of Invention

The oldest independent country in Africa, Ethiopia, ostensibly appears to be a somewhat odd choice for an EV revolution, given that significant parts of the country and half the population have no electricity supply at all, only a third have any access to an electricity grid, and only a fifth have 23 hours a day access to electricity, according to World Bank statistics.

Some of these issues will be fixed by the opening of the Grand Renaissance Dam, which doubles Ethiopia’s electricity supply, as well as the potential for increasing electrical supply even without grid electricity through solar power.

More importantly, whilst there are solutions to issues with Ethiopia’s electrical scalability, concerns about fuel scarcity and energy security are only getting worse.

Ethiopia has to import fuel in significant amounts, which has translated to pump prices doubling. 

In some cases, filling up a petrol car costs up to seven times as much as recharging an EV, aided by a renewables-driven electricity supply and budding charging infrastructure in Addis Ababa. 

Beyond this, pollution is a major issue in the Ethiopian capital, and this led to a crossroads where the country could spend millions, if not billions, on ensuring that petrol and diesel cars meet emissions standards, or it can use that money to go all-in on what increasingly appears to be the future.

Change Can Happen Overnight

Ethiopia’s government has taken a three-pronged approach to encouraging EVs. Alongside boosting electricity supply more broadly, incentives and tax exemptions have made EVs cheaper, whilst a 200 per cent import tax and recent ban on internal combustion car imports have made petrol cars more expensive.

This recent ban, the first of its kind in the world, has helped to dramatically increase the number of EVs in the country from a figure too small to mention to almost ten per cent of all cars on the road, in spite of electrical capacity issues.

The country has also encouraged the production of EVs domestically, although this currently only exists on a relatively small scale by companies such as the Belayneh Kinde Group.

What has shocked both outside observers and residents alike is that despite the rush to implement this new set of green policies, it has proven to be remarkably successful, surprisingly quickly.

Catching Up With Itself

Opting for a radical, aggressive push into EVs is not without its consequences, however. By far the biggest of these is that EV ownership relies on an infrastructure that is essentially only available in Addis Ababa.

Much of the country lacks consistent electricity, and the risk of frequent power cuts has made some drivers wary of getting stranded in the countryside, although to what extent fuel shortages are having the same effect on limiting range for petrol and diesel cars is uncertain.

What is clear, however, is that more charging stations are needed. In Ethiopia, there are barely over 100 stations, the overwhelming majority of which are in the capital, whilst in London, there are over 216 times this amount, with more being rolled out aggressively.

Given that there are concerns about charging availability even in a country far smaller than Ethiopia in terms of area but with a far more universally available electricity and charging grid network, this is the biggest limitation and issue drivers have had with their new cars.

Another issue is heavy goods vehicles; the import restrictions include them, but there are no plans as yet to buy electric lorries that help to deliver imported goods from Djibouti at the mouth of the Suez Canal.

Over time, this could create significant issues with vehicles being used long past the point where they can be reasonably repaired, but there is a cautious optimism that this, alongside every other hurdle, can be fixed.