It’s worth remembering that most of the first motor vehicles were electric. In the late nineteenth century, electrification was the hot technology, and forward-thinking engineers (like Ferdinand Porsche) were betting on batteries to drive humanity into the future. These were not energy-dense or range-efficient machines by any measure, but it’s interesting to think about where we might be today if the development of EVs had not been usurped by giant oil monopolies, inexpensive petroleum refining, and the internal combustion engine. It’s up to twenty-first-century explorers to push the boundaries of what’s possible with an EV, and 4x4electric is doing just that.
Maarten van Pel and Renske Cox are two Dutch adventurers who are on a circumnavigation of Africa in their 2022 Skoda Enyaq iv80 SUV. While they aren’t the first to tackle an African challenge with an EV—Arkady Fiedler drove the West Coast route in 2018 in his Nissan Leaf—their strategy has been unique. The Enyaq is a super-modern EV with all the attendant technology and comes standard with a projected 537km of range from its 77kWh battery. Where 4x4electric has changed the approach is in their use of solar power for a large part of their charging. The EV charging network is thin on the ground, even in urban centers, in West Africa, and essentially nonexistent in most rural areas. Fiedler often spent days trying to top up his Leaf on rickety 220V household outlets. van Pel and Cox equipped their Skoda with sixty 180W portable solar panels that cover 645 square feet when fully deployed. They’re stored in custom drawers in the cargo area when they’re on the move and controlled by a DC Venema e-Mobility charge system that connects the flexible modules directly to the battery packs in the car.
While this setup is limited to 30kW of charging power, according to 4x4electric, it has worked exceptionally well, especially in the sunnier parts of the continent like Morocco and Mauritania, but (obviously) not so great during the rainy season in DRC and the Republic of Congo. They also have built out the Skoda with the usual suite of overland equipment like a roof tent, an auxiliary 12V battery system, a 12V fridge, and an induction cooktop (eschewing propane in keeping with the all-electric theme). Cox and van Pel left Europe in November 2022 and reached Cape Town, South Africa on July 8 of this year, and they have already embarked on their return journey to the Netherlands by the East Coast route. You can follow their travels on Instagram and Twitter.
Images: 4x4electric
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