Decarbonising Africa's long-distance paratransit: Battery swapping with solar-charged minibus trailers

19 Pages Posted: 22 Nov 2022

See all articles by J.H. Giliomee

J.H. Giliomee

Stellenbosch University

M.J. Booysen

Stellenbosch University - Faculty of Engineering

Date Written: October 11, 2022

Abstract

The expected electrification of Sub-Sahara Africa's urban paratransit with an electric minibus taxi (eMBT) has received increased attention in energy research and expenditure analyses.
In this paper, several long-distance routes between the Western Cape and the Eastern Cape in South Africa are assessed for electrification. To mitigate the long charging time of eMBTs, we propose a battery swapping approach in which a trailer acts as a mobile battery bank to the vehicle (eMBT+T); which is to be charged from a solar charging station to reduce emissions. Compared to the current MBTs, the proposed model results in only a 6% trip time increase. Crucially, emissions are reduced by 75%, where a 20% increase is seen when using an eMBT. The results show that a trailer battery enables viable long distance electrical paratransit, and with the integration of solar power charging this transition can also be sustainable.

Keywords: Paratransit; Electric Vehicle; Minibus Taxi; Efficiency; Battery Swap; Solar Power

Suggested Citation

Giliomee, J.H. and Booysen, M.J., Decarbonising Africa's long-distance paratransit: Battery swapping with solar-charged minibus trailers (October 11, 2022). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4244801 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4244801

J.H. Giliomee

Stellenbosch University ( email )

Private Bag X1
Stellenbosch, 7602
South Africa

M.J. Booysen (Contact Author)

Stellenbosch University - Faculty of Engineering ( email )

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