Solar-powered truck charging gains ground on South Africa’s freight corridors

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Solar-powered truck charging gains ground on South Africa’s freight corridors

2026-02-26 18:43 Last Updated At：02-27 11:47

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Africa’s freight corridors, long dominated by diesel trucks and constrained by unreliable power grids, are emerging as a new frontier in the global shift toward clean logistics, with solar-powered charging hubs designed specifically for heavy-duty electric trucks.

In Africa, Cape Town-based Zero Carbon Charge, or Charge, is pioneering this technology. It follows global models such as WattEV in California and Milence, a joint venture between Germany’s Daimler Truck and Volvo, which have built solar-powered truck charging hubs to support high-capacity freight charging.

Charge is rolling out two fully off-grid, solar-powered electric vehicle charging stations along South Africa’s busiest freight and passenger corridor between Johannesburg and Durban, following a pilot that successfully fully charged a heavy-duty electric truck using only solar energy.

The rollout along the 570-kilometer (354-mile) N3 highway — a key artery linking the country’s economic hub with its main port — is backed by a $6.2 million equity investment from the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA). The funding, announced last July, was conditional on the company building off-grid charging infrastructure every 150 kilometers (90 miles) along national roads.

Charge said the two stations will be completed by June, enabling long-distance EV travel along one of South Africa’s busiest transport routes.

The company's co-founder, Joubert Roux, said the next phase will focus on the N1 corridor connecting Johannesburg and Cape Town, extending off-grid, ultra-fast charging across South Africa’s main long-distance routes.

Each off-grid site costs about $1.25 million.

“This investment allows us to move from pilot projects to full-scale rollouts,” Roux said. “We have proven that it’s possible to fully charge electric trucks using solar energy, and now we are building the infrastructure to do that commercially and reliably.”

Charge successfully demonstrated its capacity to link clean energy with freight transport in January when it simultaneously charged two heavy-duty electric trucks supplied by China's SANY Trucks alongside four passenger EVs.

Other clean transport companies in Africa have mostly focused on electric motorbikes. Companies such as Kenya's Spiro and Ampersand have integrated renewable energy into parts of their battery-swapping infrastructure, particularly outside major cities. However, they are hybrid systems rather than fully off-grid solar networks designed for heavy trucks.

South Africa's imports of EVs have been rising, but charging infrastructure remains limited and largely concentrated in major cities. Heavy-duty electric trucks face additional hurdles due to high energy requirements and a shortage of high-capacity charging sites, even as the national utility struggles to meet demand.

“Our approach is to build energy-resilient charging hubs that are not dependent on an unstable grid,” Roux said. “By combining solar and storage, we can provide predictable, clean power for fleets.”

Roux said adoption of electric freight technology still faces several risks, including regulatory delays for site approvals, high import duties, truck certification requirements and limited vehicle availability.

“Fleet operators are under pressure to decarbonize, but they need commercially viable solutions,” Roux said. “This investment helps us deploy infrastructure for logistics, mining and long-haul transport. We believe this model can reduce emissions while strengthening energy security.”

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Bulgaria wins the 70th Eurovision Song Contest with upbeat party anthem 'Bangaranga'

VIENNA (AP) — Bulgarian singer Dara won the 70th Eurovision Song Contest on Saturday with her infectious party anthem “Bangaranga,” giving the southeast European country its first-ever victory in the competition.

Israeli competitor Noam Bettan came second after a contest in Vienna clouded by protests and a boycott over the country’s participation.

Dara beat 24 other competitors during Saturday’s grand final of the sequin-drenched pop music competition. The song’s infectious beats and tightly choreographed dance routine proved a hit with both national juries in participating countries and viewers around the world, whose votes together decide the winner.

“This is unbelievable,” Dara said at a post-show news conference early Sunday. “I don't even know what's going on."

She thanked “everyone who felt the bangaranga and felt connected to the force.”

The 27-year-old performer is an established name in her homeland, but had not been among the favorites to win. Still, “Bangaranga” is the sort of pop banger that Eurovision does so well, with its irresistible exhortation: “Surrender to the blinding lights. No one’s gonna sleep tonight. Welcome to the riot.”

Dara has spoken about battling with anxiety, and described bangaranga as an inner force that allows people to “drop this mask of chasing perfection.” She has said the song draws on Bulgaria's kukeri, elaborately costumed men who perform ritual dances to ward off evil spirits.

Romania’s Alexandra Căpitănescu came third in the contest with the rock song “Choke Me.” Australian star Delta Goodrem was fourth with the slick midtempo ballad “Eclipse,” and Italian crooner Sal Da Vinci came fifth with “Per Sempre Si,” or “Forever Yes.”

The Finnish duo of pop star Pete Parkkonen and classical violinist Linda Lampenius, who were strong favorite on betting markets, ended up in sixth place.

Eurovision historian Dean Vuletic said the contest often produces surprises.

“Eurovision has never really been a contest for big stars,” Vuletic said. “People like to see the underdog on stage. They like to the artist-in-the-making on stage or an artist from a smaller, poorer country on stage.”

Acts from 25 countries, whittled down from an initial 35, took the stage at the Wiener Stadthalle arena in Vienna to battle for the continent’s pop crown. A fiery Finnish violinist, a Moldovan folk rapper and a Serbian metal band were among the contenders in a campy, colorful contest that has been likened to the World Cup with songs instead of soccer.

And like global sports, it often becomes entangled in politics. The contest has been clouded for a third year by calls for Israel to be excluded over its conflicts in Gaza and elsewhere, with five longtime participants — Spain, the Netherlands, Ireland, Iceland and Slovenia — boycotting in protest.

The political tensions have clouded a contest that over the decades has given the world the perfect pop of ABBA’s “Waterloo” and the ageless “Nel blu, dipinto di blu” — better known as “Volare” — along with a host of Euro-pop party anthems.

The contestants had just 3 minutes to win over viewers. Jets of flame, glitter guns and wind machines worked overtime in a show that celebrated Europe’s eclectic musical tastes.

Serbian metal band Kravina offered hard rock angst, there was brooding choral rock from Albania’s Alis, and Cypriot contestant Antigoni had the crowd on its feet with dance floor filer “Jalla.”

Female solo artists dominated: There was an empowering power ballad from Germany’s Sarah Engels, gospel-tinged R&B from Poland’s Alicja, ethereal beauty from Ukraine’s Leléka, techno-pop from Sweden’s Felicia and opera-pop from France's Monroe.

Male soloists were well represented too, by the likes of Aidan from Malta, Denmark’s Søren Torpegaard Lund, rock-edged singer Jonas Lovv from Norway and Austria's techno-pop performer Cosmo.

Party rap with a political edge was in the house thanks to Satoshi’s ebullient “Viva, Moldova” and Greek artist Akylas’ playful “Ferto.”

British act Look Mum No Computer came last with the jokey novelty song “Eins, Zwei, Drei,” winning just a single point. Bulgaria gained 516 points in the contest’s convoluted voting system, and Israel received 343.

Tension over Israel's participation in Eurovision looks unlikely to subside.

This is the second year in a row that Israel has come second, largely because of a huge vote from the public. Eurovision organizers tightened voting rules this year after allegations the country had mounted an intense lobbying campaign to get votes for its competitor.

Bettan was loudly cheered, though there was a smattering of boos as he performed “Michelle,” a rock ballad in Hebrew, French and English. Earlier in the week, four people were ejected for trying to disrupt his semifinal performance.

Hundreds of protesters against Israel's inclusion marched near the contest arena before Saturday's final, some holding placards saying “Block Eurovision.” Pro-Palestinian groups also staged an outdoor concert on Friday under the banner “No stage for genocide.”

“Inviting Israel on such a beautiful stage as the Eurovision Song Contest stage is an affront to all the people who believe in humanity, who believe in love and togetherness,” said Congolese-Austrian artist Patrick Bongola, one of the organizers.

Despite blow to Eurovision's finances and viewership from the boycott, the contest is eyeing expansion, with a spinoff Eurovision Song Contest Asia due to take place in Bangkok in November.

Vuletic said political controversy is nothing new. The first Eurovision boycott was in 1969 — by Austria, which refused to send a delegation to Spain under dictator Francisco Franco.

“We’ve seen very politicized editions of the contest in the recent past,” Vuletic said. “All of them were very much mired in political controversy, yet Eurovision continues."

Associated Press writers Hilary Fox and Philipp Jenne in Vienna and Maria Sherman in New York contributed to this report.