Enyaq's African Electric Eco-Expedition

Renske Cox and Maarten van Pel are embarking on a sustainable expedition from the Netherlands to South Africa and back in an electric car to promote eco-friendly travel and showcase the long-distance capability of electric vehicles.

They've established a non-profit organisation to own the Enyaq and secured partnerships for funding and equipment. The car underwent modifications, including the addition of solar panels for charging, which mostly relies on sunlight and takes about a day.

Their journey aims to advocate for solar-powered cars in Africa despite challenges like extreme heat and visa arrangements. Expected to last about a year and a half, covering various African countries, they hope to inspire locals along the way and discuss the future of electric vehicles.

“Next, we wanted to charge the car at least half the time with solar power just as before. But the weather betrayed us a little. Clouds started in Ghana all the way to Angola, which was four months of travelling. And I don’t mean a cloudlet here and there; we saw clouds every day and often it was overcast. It cleared up for a day in Angola and then once again in Namibia. You don’t get much out of the sun in that kind of weather – the charging intensity jumps up and down, you’re almost at full power for a while, then it drops almost to zero and jumps back up again,” Renske explains why they were forced to use the electric grid as well.