SADC’s uptake of e-mobility slow, despite region’s battery minerals endowment

20th November 2020

By: Tasneem Bulbulia

Senior Contributing Editor Online

     

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The uptake of e-mobility and electric vehicles (EVs) is set to increase globally, and this provides a myriad of opportunities for the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region, especially given its endowment of natural resources used in the production of the batteries used in these vehicles.

However, the SADC region is lagging in this regard and needs to spring into action now to capitalise on these opportunities, a panel of speakers said during think-tank the South African Institute of International Affairs (Saiia) and foundation Konrad Adenauer Stiftung’s online conference on Southern Africa’s opportunity to lead in the e-mobility space, on November 4.

Saiia Futures lead Dr Deon Cloete said there were still only a small number of EVs in the SADC region and that it remained a niche market.

He said there were examples of positive developments, such as the City of Cape Town piloting the use of e-buses.

However, the region was still lagging behind the rest of the world in terms of encouraging the uptake of EVs, owing to a strong belief that jobs in the internal combustion engine automotive industry needed to be protected for as long as possible, he said.

Cloete noted that there needed to be collaboration between the private and public sectors to roll out EV infrastructure and that SADC Green Transport targets and polices needed to be ratified. He said the latter would incentivise e-mobility in the region.

uYilo e-Mobility Programme manager Edem Foli said the EV market was poised to grow after the pandemic, which presented a major opportunity for the SADC region in terms of the lithium battery manufacturing value chain.

She explained that this value chain entailed the mining of raw materials, raw material beneficiation, cell components manufacturing, cell manufacturing, battery pack assembly, application use and recycling.

However, she said that, currently, the majority of activities in SADC countries were taking place at the start of the value chain, with most in the mining of raw materials.

There were some member States doing a little bit of work further along the value chain, such as South Africa, which was beginning to undertake research and development work in raw material beneficiation, cell components manufacturing, cell manufacturing and recycling, noted Foli.

Moreover, other member States were assembling lithium battery packs; however, they were importing the cells.

There were also signs of EVs gaining popularity in the SADC region, he added.

However, there needed to be much more investment and uptake, as there was considerable value for the SADC along the entire value chain, which needed to be unlocked through public–private partnerships, and coherent policy, emphasised Foli.

She said EVs in the region were currently all imported, with local manufacturers not having any incentives to manufacture them locally. There was also a lack of coherent policy to fast-track the uptake of these.

She also pointed to a lack of infrastructure across the region, for example, a lack of charging points. While she noted that South Africa had about 270 public charging points, most other SADC members States had very few.

Moreover, a major challenge for the region to contend with was the lack of reliable electricity supply to charge EVs.

Further, Foli mentioned a lack of consumer awareness around EVs.

She noted that a lack of adoption of EVs in the SADC had a knock-on effect on the earlier stages of the value chain, as there was currently no urgency to invest in or develop expertise in lithium, if there is no market for it locally.

However, she noted that global lithium battery demand would grow considerably to 2030.

Therefore, she emphasised that it was time to invest in developing the entire value chain, as demand would tick up, and the region had the raw material to support that growth.

Foli said that there was a window of opportunity over the next five years for SADC member States to collaborate on initiatives and interventions that would enable them to competitively participate in value-added manufacturing across the entire lithium battery manufacturing value chain.

Edited by Chanel de Bruyn
Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor Online

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