First off-grid electric car charger in South Africa — Photos and specifications

Local government approvals and tender rules have delayed the rollout of a vast network of the first fully off-grid electric vehicle (EV) charging stations in South Africa.

However, the first station should be online by November 2024, while two more will begin construction next month.

Zero Carbon Charge (ZeroCC) is aiming to build 120 off-grid EV charging stations in South Africa.

The company believes that the country cannot realise the environmental benefits of EVs unless the energy sources used for charging their batteries are also clean.

To capitalise on the growing sales of EVs while also making them greener to run in South Africa, it is building fully off-grid charging stations on long-distance routes across the country.

These stations will be powered by large solar power farms, battery storage, and cleaner oil-based generators for backup.

They will be paired with farm stalls offering local products that motorists can enjoy while waiting for their cars to charge.

Unfortunately, ZeroCC has pushed back its targeted date for reaching 120 sites from September 2025 to early 2026, due to holdups in site approvals.

“There have been some delays when it comes to national and provincial authorities and commenting bodies giving approvals for some of the charging sites,” ZeroCC told MyBroadband.

The company blamed the issues on the fact that its proposition — establishing and developing off-grid, solar-powered EV charging stations — was completely new in South Africa.

ZeroCC has made some progress in unblocking the regulatory holdups, including signing memorandums of understanding with several provincial governments in support of the rollout.

In addition, it has deployed a team to travel to municipalities nationwide to educate and inform officials of the project, which has helped in resolving red tape issues.

“As a result, there are a number of site launches planned over the coming weeks in several provinces including the Eastern Cape at the start of October, as well as Limpopo,” ZeroCC said.

“However, these initial regulatory delays have meant that the date for all 120 charging stations having been completed has shifted to a later date, estimated to be at the start of 2026.”

First station delayed by tenders — but nearing completion

ZeroCC broke ground on its first EV charging station between Klerksdorp and Wolmaransstad on the N12 in North West in November 2023, with an initial planned completion date of June 2024.

That was shifted to September 2024 to ensure a transparent tender process for appointing contractors. The shipping of the station’s hardware also encountered delays.

The date has since been pushed back again to November 2024 for thorough testing of the hardware and software at the charging facility.

“With construction on the farm stall and the infrastructure to house the solar panels well underway, we are on track to launch the charging station in November 2024,” ZeroCC said.

Fastest chargers in the country

ZeroCC said it wanted to offer a high-quality service and world-class experience from the very start.

All of the EV charging stations will be equipped with six DC charging points and two AC chargers, allowing up to eight vehicles to charge simultaneously.

The chargers will use a 480kW liquid-cooled charging system, integrated with the solar PV units and modular battery packs.

Three of the six DC charging connectors will be liquid-cooled, supporting up to 500A of charging current.

“As far as we know, this is a first in South Africa, and will significantly reduce the charging times of most EVs,” ZeroCC said.

For reference, the fastest-charging EVs in South Africa — the Audi e-tron GT and Porsche Taycan — can charge up to 270kW via DC.

With ZeroCC’s fastest chargers easily supporting those speeds, these cars will be able to charge from 5% to 80% in about 23 minutes.

That 75% charge will add roughly 63kWh of energy to their packs, enough to cover roughly 280km at a typical highway efficiency of 22.5kWh/100km.

To support the farm stall and charging stations, the site’s solar PV installation will consist of 480 bifacial solar panels providing around 280kWp of energy production, equal to 88 entry-level home solar systems with six panels each.

Enormous battery and backup generator capacity

During peak production hours, the solar farm can charge up the site’s massive 546kWh liquid-cooled battery from empty to full in less than two hours.

To put that battery capacity into perspective, a typical mid-sized EV has between 60kWh and 80kWh capacity.

Therefore, roughly seven to nine cars will be able to charge off a fully-charged battery when the sun is not shining.

The company said the battery system will be modular and scalable, allowing it to easily add capacity as required.

The site comes with a 250kVA generator for backup during periods of unusually high usage or prolonged overcast weather.

ZeroCC previously said these generators would use hydrotreated vegetable oil, emitting 90% lower emissions than diesel.

The stations will also have ablution facilities and free, fast Wi-Fi to keep customers connected throughout their visit.