1
00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:01,840
Speaker 1: Well, I don't know about you, but in the midst

2
00:00:01,880 --> 00:00:04,680
Speaker 1: of the fuel crisis and wondering about the long term

3
00:00:04,720 --> 00:00:08,200
Speaker 1: implications of what's been going on in and around the

4
00:00:08,240 --> 00:00:11,880
Speaker 1: country of Iran and the region crucial oil producing and

5
00:00:11,920 --> 00:00:15,200
Speaker 1: exporting part of the world, of course I've given some

6
00:00:15,280 --> 00:00:18,479
Speaker 1: thought to well electrics, you know, an electric car. But

7
00:00:18,800 --> 00:00:21,200
Speaker 1: that's why my eye probably picked out a very very

8
00:00:21,200 --> 00:00:25,560
Speaker 1: interesting piece on the website, the Conversation, and it's written

9
00:00:25,600 --> 00:00:29,400
Speaker 1: by my next guest. He's Professor Tennis Boyson, professing the

10
00:00:29,440 --> 00:00:33,720
Speaker 1: Faculty of Engineering at Stellenbosch University. They were keen to

11
00:00:33,840 --> 00:00:38,559
Speaker 1: better understand electric motorbikes, not just as a way of

12
00:00:38,680 --> 00:00:42,760
Speaker 1: buzzing around and visiting your friends, but actually as commercial vehicles,

13
00:00:42,800 --> 00:00:45,159
Speaker 1: and living in South African cities at the moment, you

14
00:00:45,240 --> 00:00:49,400
Speaker 1: need no reminding of the commercial potential of motorcycles. So

15
00:00:49,880 --> 00:00:54,400
Speaker 1: they decided to check out the quality of South African

16
00:00:54,480 --> 00:00:57,240
Speaker 1: made electric bikes and they did it in a very

17
00:00:57,280 --> 00:01:00,280
Speaker 1: interesting way. Let's welcome Prof Boys into the show and

18
00:01:00,320 --> 00:01:02,920
Speaker 1: hear all about it. Prof welcome and thanks very much

19
00:01:02,960 --> 00:01:06,360
Speaker 1: for giving us your time. A team of electrical and

20
00:01:06,440 --> 00:01:11,720
Speaker 1: industrial engineers at Stellenbosch University decided to put this motorbike

21
00:01:11,959 --> 00:01:15,160
Speaker 1: to the real test, and so you rode all the

22
00:01:15,160 --> 00:01:19,080
Speaker 1: way from Kenya to South Africa six thousand kilometers. Well,

23
00:01:19,120 --> 00:01:22,959
Speaker 1: why such a stringent test? Tell us what you're thinking?

24
00:01:23,120 --> 00:01:24,119
Speaker 1: Was good afternoon to.

25
00:01:24,080 --> 00:01:27,959
Speaker 2: You, afternoon, mister Pillman. Thank you very much for the opportunity.

26
00:01:28,080 --> 00:01:30,720
Speaker 2: I'm really glad to share the story of Recharging Hope.

27
00:01:30,800 --> 00:01:33,600
Speaker 2: What returned it Recharging Hope with you? Yes, because we

28
00:01:33,680 --> 00:01:37,640
Speaker 2: believe it's an inspirational, hopeful story that's not just the story,

29
00:01:37,640 --> 00:01:40,679
Speaker 2: but it's also grounded on something realized you've described. Yeah,

30
00:01:40,720 --> 00:01:43,840
Speaker 2: we traveled from Aerobi to Stellinbosh on a locally Kenyan

31
00:01:43,880 --> 00:01:48,240
Speaker 2: built electric motorbike and we charged it with exclusively using

32
00:01:48,280 --> 00:01:50,760
Speaker 2: solar power, so we didn't use any groad power and

33
00:01:50,840 --> 00:01:54,440
Speaker 2: obviously no petrol to test whether an African built solution

34
00:01:54,800 --> 00:01:58,320
Speaker 2: that is also powered with an African solution can power

35
00:01:58,400 --> 00:02:01,440
Speaker 2: our mobility future. And what makes it exciting is that

36
00:02:01,480 --> 00:02:04,440
Speaker 2: it's not just theory, it's actually practical. It's very human,

37
00:02:04,480 --> 00:02:06,960
Speaker 2: and it shows that a better future already starting to

38
00:02:07,040 --> 00:02:07,840
Speaker 2: take shape.

39
00:02:08,560 --> 00:02:12,320
Speaker 1: Yeah, and I'm misunderstood by the way, well, miss misrepresented.

40
00:02:12,400 --> 00:02:14,800
Speaker 1: I thought it was made in South Africa, but producing

41
00:02:14,919 --> 00:02:18,000
Speaker 1: Kenya in many ways makes it more exciting. What's the

42
00:02:18,040 --> 00:02:21,560
Speaker 1: bigger picture here, I mean, this wasn't a science experiment.

43
00:02:22,000 --> 00:02:28,880
Speaker 1: This is a social environmental vision that seems you're exploring exactly.

44
00:02:28,919 --> 00:02:32,000
Speaker 2: This was really more than just a publicity stunt and

45
00:02:32,080 --> 00:02:35,000
Speaker 2: more than just a simple test as well. I don't

46
00:02:35,000 --> 00:02:37,959
Speaker 2: know if you're aware, but motorcycles already carry livelihoods in

47
00:02:38,000 --> 00:02:41,680
Speaker 2: the rest of Africa. They move people, goods, medicine, and

48
00:02:42,360 --> 00:02:45,240
Speaker 2: opportunity every day. So liquifying them is not just a

49
00:02:45,280 --> 00:02:49,120
Speaker 2: distant idea. It's something that immediate and immediate opportunity that

50
00:02:49,160 --> 00:02:52,520
Speaker 2: can cust costs, reduce field dependence as you mentioned, and

51
00:02:52,600 --> 00:02:55,679
Speaker 2: improve equality and local industry at the same time. So

52
00:02:55,919 --> 00:02:59,480
Speaker 2: the reason we did this is we wanted to collaborate

53
00:02:59,520 --> 00:03:02,720
Speaker 2: with our part in Kenya because they are truth be told,

54
00:03:02,800 --> 00:03:05,840
Speaker 2: mild ahead of us from a South African perspective, right,

55
00:03:06,000 --> 00:03:09,000
Speaker 2: and we are helping them with research, helping them develop

56
00:03:09,040 --> 00:03:12,520
Speaker 2: their products because we are in a good position to

57
00:03:12,560 --> 00:03:16,240
Speaker 2: do impactful research as well. Yeah, so that's what we

58
00:03:16,360 --> 00:03:18,639
Speaker 2: what we didn't recaptured this whole thing in the Recharging

59
00:03:18,680 --> 00:03:23,320
Speaker 2: Hope documentary to to also convey this message and to

60
00:03:23,720 --> 00:03:25,840
Speaker 2: ensure that we're all aware of the fact that we

61
00:03:25,880 --> 00:03:28,000
Speaker 2: can we have the skills and so that we have

62
00:03:28,080 --> 00:03:31,200
Speaker 2: the skills in Africa and we can do it.

63
00:03:31,240 --> 00:03:34,160
Speaker 1: So I'm just looking a bit at your piece twenty

64
00:03:34,320 --> 00:03:38,400
Speaker 1: seven million motorbikes in Sub Saharan Africa. You make the

65
00:03:38,440 --> 00:03:42,680
Speaker 1: point that zero point one percent are electric, but the

66
00:03:42,760 --> 00:03:46,920
Speaker 1: other number I'm interested to understand better what percentage of

67
00:03:46,960 --> 00:03:49,080
Speaker 1: them are actually made on the continent.

68
00:03:50,320 --> 00:03:55,680
Speaker 2: An increasingly lower percentage of them made exclusively. Yeah, yeah, yeah,

69
00:03:55,720 --> 00:03:59,800
Speaker 2: So unfortunately the market is being flooded by imported vehicles,

70
00:03:59,840 --> 00:04:02,560
Speaker 2: and part of what we're trying to do with this

71
00:04:02,680 --> 00:04:07,640
Speaker 2: pieces also to just push policy makers to help us

72
00:04:07,920 --> 00:04:11,840
Speaker 2: to bring the solutions home here and to support industry

73
00:04:11,880 --> 00:04:14,680
Speaker 2: because as I said earlier, we have the skills, we

74
00:04:14,720 --> 00:04:18,240
Speaker 2: have the production facilities. If we get policy makers on

75
00:04:18,240 --> 00:04:20,839
Speaker 2: our sides, we don't have to build our future in

76
00:04:20,920 --> 00:04:23,120
Speaker 2: another continent to import it. We can do it on

77
00:04:23,200 --> 00:04:27,200
Speaker 2: the continent right here. So increasingly it's basically Chinese vehicles

78
00:04:27,240 --> 00:04:31,479
Speaker 2: being imported into Sub Saharan Africa. But there's one company,

79
00:04:31,560 --> 00:04:34,599
Speaker 2: Rome who we partner with in Kenya. They're a beacon

80
00:04:34,640 --> 00:04:37,880
Speaker 2: of light. They make all their motorbikes locally. They implory

81
00:04:38,040 --> 00:04:41,920
Speaker 2: around two hundred engineers in Kenya. So they brought the

82
00:04:42,000 --> 00:04:44,440
Speaker 2: vehicle to the party and we designed the power system,

83
00:04:44,480 --> 00:04:48,159
Speaker 2: the mobile solar power power system. And as I say,

84
00:04:48,200 --> 00:04:50,680
Speaker 2: we support them with research because we really believe in

85
00:04:50,720 --> 00:04:51,200
Speaker 2: what they do.

86
00:04:51,800 --> 00:04:54,600
Speaker 1: Yeah, fascinating stuff and we'll keep up to date on that.

87
00:04:54,760 --> 00:04:57,440
Speaker 1: Please let us know when they're our updates. We should

88
00:04:57,440 --> 00:05:00,320
Speaker 1: know about Professor Tinas Boyson. He's a prof in the

89
00:05:00,400 --> 00:05:04,840
Speaker 1: Faculty of Engineering at Stellenbosch University. Yeah, a very interesting hour.

90
00:05:04,960 --> 00:05:07,880
Speaker 1: We've had less than an hour, about forty five minutes.

91
00:05:08,080 --> 00:05:14,240
Speaker 1: We've looked at possible agribusiness burgeoning opportunity Pastasia nuts in

92
00:05:14,320 --> 00:05:18,000
Speaker 1: the Northern Cape A. Now talking to Prof. Boisson about

93
00:05:18,480 --> 00:05:23,240
Speaker 1: a possible electric motorbike industry growing and thriving on the

94
00:05:23,279 --> 00:05:28,400
Speaker 1: African continent. Twenty seven million motorbikes in Sub Saharan Africa.

95
00:05:28,480 --> 00:05:31,799
Speaker 1: Visually none of them are actually produced on this continent.

96
00:05:32,400 --> 00:05:36,400
Speaker 1: And in Kenya they forging ahead with some electrical and

97
00:05:36,480 --> 00:05:40,840
Speaker 1: solar powered opportunities. Good stuff. Twenty seven minutes past four