Transportation in Africa under Paris Agreement 2 °C goal-a review of electric vehicle potentials, cleaner alternative fuels for the sector, challenges, and opportunities.

Abstract

Currently, internal combustion engines and fossil fuels are the major powertrains and fuels for the transportation sector, despite their enormous emissions. This study reviews the status of electric vehicles (EVs) in Africa, the potential barriers that affect their large-scale adoption, and the continent's potential to produce cleaner alternative fuels for transportation and find the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) to produce alternative fuels in Africa. First, the review looked at challenges confronting the adoption of EVs in Africa, some of which include high upfront costs, poor grid systems, frequent blackouts, inadequate infrastructure (roads and charging systems), and the dominance of used conventional vehicles. The various cleaner alternative fuels, i.e., hydrogen, biogas, ethanol, methanol, ammonia, biodiesel, and vegetable oils, and their potential on the African continent were also reviewed. The last section of the study employed the SWOT analytical tool to assess the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats in the alternative fuel industry in Africa. Factors such as competition from existing technologies, inadequate funding, feeble linkages between research and production, unsustainable policies for the sector, cultural constraints and lack of awareness, volatile financial systems, and low levels of foreign direct investment are some of the identified threats that could affect the development of alternative fuels in Africa. Similarly, factors such as the continuous decline in the cost of renewable energy technologies and heightened awareness of the adverse effects of GHG on the environment were identified as opportunities for the development of alternative fuels for the transport sector.