Africa E-Mobility Forum

The Forum had 4 main parts, each with slightly different specific objectives and target audiences:

1. Tanzania E-mobility Data and Policy Day by Solutions Plus
2. Workshop on Improving the Circularity of E-bus Batteries by TUMI E-bus Mission
3. Meeting of the Africa Support and Investment Platform for E-mobility by UNEP – including the E-mobility Innovators fair
4. Training on Electric Buses by UITP – including visit to DART

Part 1: 20 March 2023 8am-5pm

Tanzania E-mobility Data and Policy by SOLUTIONSplus

Target Groups: E-mobility stakeholders in Tanzania

The Tanzania E-mobility day was opened by Jocelin Cronet from the EU Delegation in Tanzania and Edwin Mhede, Chief Executive of the Dar es Salaam Rapid Transit Agency (DART). Mr Cronet confirmed the EU’s support to extending the BRT and working hand in hand with DART to make the system sustainable. Mr Mhede added the importance of last mile connectivity and DART’s efforts to ensure safe door to door services, for example through electric three wheelers.

Judith Owigar from UN-Habitat presented the Solutions Plus Project which brings together highly committed cities, industry, research, implementing organisations and finance partners and establishes a global platform for shared, public and commercial e-mobility solutions to kick start the transition towards low-carbon urban mobility. The project encompasses city level demonstrations to test different types of innovative and integrated e-mobility solutions, complemented by a comprehensive toolbox, capacity development and replication activities. Demonstration actions have been launched in Hanoi (Vietnam), Pasig (Philippines), Lalitpur/Kathmandu (Nepal), Kigali (Rwanda), Dar es Salaam (Tanzania), Quito (Ecuador), Montevideo (Uruguay), Madrid (Spain), Nanjing (China) and Hamburg (Germany).

This was followed by a panel on data needs for emobility moderated by DART. The panelist were Grace Legodi from Untapped Global, Niko Kadjaia from the emobility start-up TRI and Rasmus Precht from GIZ. Graeme Leighton from Where is My Transport presented the company’s innovative approach to transport data collection in developing cities.

In the afternoon, the Paschal Giki from the Africa E-mobility Alliance (AFEMA) presented a new report on barriers and policy gaps regarding E-mobility in Tanzania followed by a discussion with the Tanzania E-mobility Association (TAEMA) and the National Institute of Transport (NIT). An interesting fact was that Tanzania actually has the largest fleet of electric vehicles in East Africa with 5,000+ vehicles from over 10 different companies.

The discussion on policies continued with a working session moderated by UN-Habitat presenting a paper on e-mobility policy recommendations & introduction of the National Urban Mobility Policy (NUMP) process in Tanzania. The day finished with a presentation by ITDP Africa on the development of a City Roadmap on E-mobility for Dar Es Salaam.

Part 2: 20 March 2023 1pm-5pm

Improving the Circularity of E-bus Batteries – Measures for procurers, operators and policy-makers by TUMI E-bus mission and Oeko-Institut

Target groups: Decision-makers around procurement and operation of e-buses; decision-makers around product standards and hazardous waste management

Mr Andreas Manhardt from the Oeko-Institut presented the concept of Circularity and why it is important for electric buses. The interim conclusion was that the End-of-life management of e-buses and batteries may be associated with significant net costs. However, with some forward looking (circular economy) measures, these costs can be reduced significantly and/or retained with the producers. He presented the following measures to improve the circularity of e-buses and their batteries:

• Reduced concentrations of hazardous substances
• Appropriate sizing of buses and batteries
• Battery durability & warranties
• Battery labelling
• Real-life testing
• Interoperability of charging infrastructure
• Access to battery operational data
• Profound battery monitoring & maintenance
• EPR-based decommissioning agreements
• Encouraging battery reuse
• Sound battery end-of-life management

The participants particularly appreciated the presentation of criteria for procuring e-buses with reduced concentrations of harmful substances, minimum battery durability and interoperability requirements to ensure that the e-buses to be procured fit to the local needs.

Part 3: 21 March 2023 8am-5pm

Meeting of the Africa Support and Investment Platform for E-mobility by UNEP

Target groups: Decision-makers from national and local government, companies and financiers interested in e-mobility

The day was opened by the Hon Amos Makalla, Regional Commissioner of the City of Dar es Salaam, Edwin Mhede from DART and Clara Makenya from UNEP. Mr Makalla highlighted the commitment of Dar es Salaam to provide a safe, affordable and clean transport system for its citizens and Mr Mhede thanked him for his leadership and support to DART. Ms Makenya mentioned the support of the UN System to sustainable development in Tanzania and the importance of transport for climate change mitigation.

Annika Berlin from UNEP’s Sustainable Mobility Unit started the core part of the meeting of the Africa Support and Investment Platform by introducing UNEP’s Global Electric Mobility Programme. The programme is supporting the global shift to zero emissions electric mobility in more than 50 low-and middle-income countries (LMICs), implementing grants close to USD 100 million, and leveraging co-finance exceeding USD 500 million. The E-Mobility Programme is active on the global, regional and country levels, combining technical assistance, investment, outreach and awareness campaigns on all aspects of e-mobility including institutionalization, policy, business and finance, sustainability and also the implementation of pilot projects. More than 200 reports, tools, policy briefs etc. have been developed and made accessible through the e-mobility toolbox (https://emobility.tools/).

The meeting continued with presentations and discussions on e-mobility projects from 7 African countries/cities:

• Elvis Octave from the Seychelles
• Janvier Twagirimana from Rwanda
• Fanuel Kalugendo from Tanzania
• Thomas Niamkey from Cote d’Ivoire
• Winnie Chore from Nairobi, Kenya
• Jacob Byamukama from Kampala, Uganda
• Thami Manyathi from Durban, South Africa

This was followed by a session on gender inclusion in e-mobility projects, kickstarted by Ariadne Baskin from the TUMI E-bus Mission. Judith Owigar from UN-Habitat and Brady Grimes from Ampersand shared learnings and principles from a pilot project on female electric motorcycle riders in Kigali supported by SolutionsPlus. Annika Berlin mentioned that the integration of gender in E-mobility projects will be strengthened by a new project funded by the German Federal Government and implemented by UNEP, titled “E-Mobility as a Driver for Change - Gender Transformative Zero Emission Mobility Systems.

The afternoon session started with a panel on financing for emobility moderated by UN-Habitat. Panelists were Mark Hankins from getInvest, Grace Legoni from Untapped Global, Angela Muraguri from Kawisafi Ventures, Franck Adjagba from the Africa Guarantee Fund and Yonas Mchomvu from the World Bank. They shared on the different modalities available for companies and countries that want to invest in e-mobility.

The question-and-answer session was followed by a panel with e-mobility innovators moderated by Tom Courtright from the Africa E-mobility Alliance. The 4 African Start-ups TRI, Ampersand, Knights Energy, ELICO presented their product offerings and recommendations to support the growth of the local e-mobility ecosystem.

Annika Berlin from UNEP closed the meeting, highlighting that the transition to e-mobility goes beyond a mere technological shift and provides huge opportunities to create more sustainable and inclusive mobility systems for all. She then led the participants to the e-mobility innovators fair with showcased products from the following companies:

• TRI
• Greenfoot
• Knights Energy
• eMo Mobility
• FABIO
• FASTA
• Ekoglobale
• Robotech
• Kaypee Motors
• AG Energies

Part 4: 22-24 March 2023

Training on Electric Bus Procurement, Planning and Financing by UITP Academy

Target groups: Staff from public transport operators or authorities planning to introduce electric buses in their public transport system, policymakers and ministry staff involved in the uptake of electric buses and eager to learn more from international best practice.

The ISO29990:2010 certified training programme began with an Introduction to electric solutions for urban bus networks by Gershwin Fortune, Urban Transportation Specialist & UITP Chair of Informal Transport Working Group, Cape Town, South Africa. Bus electrification saw an immense growth over the past five years with 20% to 30% annual sales share of electric buses in China and substantial growth in Europe. E-bus provision calls for a system approach where the elements of the system –vehicle, infrastructure, operation –are planned, designed, and deployed as a system.

The second session covered E-bus technology and charging infrastructure & state of the electric bus market by Johannes Libermann, Project manager for autonomous driving, electric and hydrogen, Wiener Linien, Vienna, Austria. He explained that the dimensioning of e-bus systems should be done on worst case conditions to ensure all year performance of the technology.

The first case study covered the development of an electric bus operation and procuring electric buses by Gershwin Fortune, from line management and maintenance to training of personnel, driving and safety. The importance of studying the initial operational needs is key to successfully introducing electric buses, as much as the design and dimensioning of the line according to the energy supply and usage.

The third session focused on Getting the procurement process right by Johannes Libermann. To successfully implement and run a fully electric bus line, it is essential to make the tendering process evolve from a simple vehicle purchase to the tendering of a comprehensive electric system, taking into account life cycle costs, charging infrastructure, batteries, business models such as leasing and renting, etc.

The final session of Day 1 was a Case Study on How to use data-decision making for the succesful design and execution of your Electric Public Transport Strategy with the example for Roam Kenya, delivered by Hans van Toor, Director TES Network, Nairobi, Kenya. He presented practical data collection methods during (electric) public transport pilot projects, data analysis methods, looking at case studies from other regions.

The second day started with a Case Study on the Successful Implementation of Battery Electric Buses in the (East) African Context by Dennis Wakaba, Electric Mobility Specialist and special project coordinator for ROAM, Nairobi Kenya. The (East) African context provides a launching pad for electric mobility, with a changing transportation landscape, high fuel prices, high renewable energy mix. The transition to electric public transport requires the whole system to adapt; including asset financiers, charging infrastructure, people (engineers, drivers and conductors) and policy makers. Roam (formerly known as Opibus) started with Electric Mobility in Kenya in 2017. A strong focus on local design and assembly has helped bring products to customers with a strong market fit. In addition, this strategy provides a highly resilient supply-chain for low-cost products, provision of reliable charging infrastructure and after sales.

Session 4 by Johannes Libermann look into new auxiliaries and technologies used to run electric buses, whether it be the installation and running of charging infrastructure, the impact on information technology systems, driver assistance, standardization of the connection or the technical evolution of the battery.

This was followed by a Case study from West Africa on the Electric BRT system in Dakar, Senegal by Nancy Seck Sow, Transportation engineer, Conseil Exécutif des Transports urbains de Dakar – CETUD. The Dakar BRT is going to be the first fully electric BRT in Africa financed by World Bank (US$ 300 M) and will have 140 articulated electric buses envisaged to take-up operation by end of this year.

The fifth session focused on Financial mechanisms for E-mobility presented by Gershwin Fortune. There are many innovative mechanisms that have been tested globally for electric buses such as the Pay as you save scheme and battery as a service.

In the final session of the day Winnie CHORE, Senior Officer Network Management, Nairobi Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (NAMATA), Kenya presented their efforts in developing an BRT system with electric buses  for Nairobi and the feasibility study done under the TUMI E-bus mission.

The last day of the training consisted of a Study Visit to a BRT Station and Bus depot led by DART. The participants had the change to ask questions to the technical staff of DART as well as the CEO of bus operating company UDART.

In summary, e-mobility strategies must be based on a dual approach that encourages both:

1. Sustainable mobility that enhances the shift towards attractive and safe public and non-motorized transport modes, and
2. Vehicle technology that minimizes greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution

The participants expressed their appreciation for the organization of the forum and training and requested the Africa E-mobility Forum to become an annual event. The recommendation will be taken up by UNEP.