List of charging stations for electric vehicles in Nigeria

The bid to have a more environmentally-friendly kind of automobile has been one of the major drives behind the rise of electric cars. Electric cars are powered by electric motors using the energy stored in rechargeable batteries installed in the car while gasoline-powered vehicles, well just as the name implies, are powered by gasoline or gas.

Nigeria is picking up the pace to join the globe as electric cars are fast becoming the vehicle of choice. Stallion Motors broke the jinx that Electric cars cannot be built or even survive in Nigeria when they launched the first-ever Nigeria made Electric car named Hyundai-Kona in November, last year.

Similarly, Jet Motors Nigeria, founded in 2017, is a Nigerian automobile manufacturer that designs and builds electric vehicles for African roads. After about three years of research, testing and iterative development, some of the earliest outputs of the company’s effort are the JET EV, Africa’s first-ever electric car and the JET MOVER.

As Nigeria seeks to increase the availability of electric vehicles in Nigeria, it becomes necessary that charging stations are installed. Power supply has been a glaring deterrent to embracing electric vehicles in Nigeria. Most areas in Nigeria cannot even boast of having an interrupted power supply of about 6 hours, not to speak of 24 hours.

Other developed countries like China, the USA and UK have multiple charging stations to cater for the growing number of electric cars. The Nigerian government has made concrete moves to install charging stations at strategic locations in the country.

Meaning Of Charging Station

A charging station is a machine that supplies electric energy to charge plug-in electric vehicles including hybrids, neighbourhood electric vehicles, trucks, buses, and others. Public charging stations have their locations on the street-side or at retail shopping centres, government facilities and parking areas. Some charging stations have advanced features such as smart metering, cellular capability and network connectivity, while others are more basic. Charging stations are also called electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE).

Electric Car Charging Stations In Nigeria

1. Charging station in Sokoto

Not long after the launch of the Hyundai Kona, the first officially recognized charging station was made in Nigeria. The Nigeria Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC) inaugurated the first Electric Vehicle Charging Station in Nigeria, in Sokoto State. This was a pilot project done in collaboration with Usmanu Danfodio University, Sokoto (UDUS). According to the Director-General of NADDC, Mr Jelani Aliyu, the charging station is a 100 per cent solar energy-powered charging station in Nigeria. Sokoto was chosen as the location for the pilot project owing to the hot weather conditions in the state. The energy from the sun can easily be harnessed to supply power for homes, Industries and of course, charge electric vehicles.

Speaking further at the event, Jelani Aliyu said the inauguration of the charging station was ‘the beginning of a new era for Nigeria as it marks the realisation of the government’s desire to build sustainable technology in the country.’

The charging station contains arrays of installed solar panels with 86.4 kilowatts per hour capacity. They are then coupled to three online-offline hybrid inverters with 5-kilovolt ampere (KVA) each and synchronized to give an output of 15KVA/48 watts. The system’s energy storage is made up of 36 units of deep-cycle gel batteries with an output of 48 volts/1980 amperes.

2. Charging Station In Lagos

In July, barely three months after launching the first charging station in Sokoto, another charging station was commissioned in Lagos, Nigeria. This project was led by the National Automotive Design and Development Agency (NADDC), under the Elective Vehicle Pilot Project. The Charging station is a full solar-powered electric charging station in Lagos. This project was done in collaboration with the University of Lagos and Hyundai Motors, Nigeria.

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Universities have represented a choice of location for installing charging stations. This is because the Nigerian government seeks to allow students to have first-hand experience with the latest innovations in mobility and renewable power technology. The charging station is equipped with deep cycle batteries of up to 95 kWh storage capacity.

3. Possible EVS

The new electric vehicle charging station, owned by Possible EVS, a pioneering African automotive startup, set to serve as a convenient, fast-charging point for electric buses, taxis, and private vehicles, helping to drive sustainable mobility and promote the widespread adoption of EVs in the country. The opening of this facility means that, for the first time in Nigeria, electric car owners have a publicly available fast-charging station where they can just drive in, plug their vehicles, and have it fully charged in just 20 to 30 minutes. “With the country’s current energy crisis and rising fuel price, Nigerians will begin to see EVs for what they are: the most sustainable, cost-effective solution to their mobility problems,” said Mosope Olaosebikan, CEO of Possible EVS.

CONCLUSION

Electric vehicles are becoming more embraced by Nigerians. With time, more charging stations will be installed across the country.