As the world moves towards greener infrastructure, electric and hybrid cars have started gaining traction in Kenya – By Gerald Gekara.
Power generator KenGen has announced its investment on electric car charging systems to increase its revenue streams.
KenGen Strategy and Innovation Director David Muthike said Monday through a webinar that the firm is positioning itself to the possibilities of the rollout of electric public service vehicles.
“The case to have electric vehicles is there and KenGen is ready to support that with renewable energy,” said Mr Muthike in the webinar convened by Energy Society Kenya.
“On innovation, we are exploring to participate in manufacturing and we have also rolled out charging infrastructure with a pilot within our premises.”
Mr Muthike did not however give details on the location of the pilot vehicle charging infrastructure.
Currently, Finnish company Nopia Ride has set up shop in Nairobi. This paved way for Kenya’s first-ever eco-friendly shared mobility unit services.
Opibus, another startup led by Johanna Alander, Filip Lövström, Filip Gardler, Mikael Gånge, and Rawlings Nechevava began processes to introduce electric matatus, after successfully introducing fully electric tour vans.
However, with all these innovations, the first challenge was to tackle the availability of charging stations.
In Nairobi, Two Rivers Mall located along Kiambu Road, the Hub in Karen, and Thika Road Mall contain Kenya’s main charging stations, with other remote stations at Opibus garage.
