Photo: Florin Profir / autoevolution edit
Bordered by Eritrea in the north, Djibouti in the east, Somalia in the south, and Sudan, South Sudan, and Kenya in the west, Ethiopia is a country few Americans, Canadians, and even Europeans know much about. Ask a random passerby what they think of it, and they’ll likely tell you that it would be a good destination for a safari.
It does have its fair share of wildlife anyone should see at least once in their lifetime, that’s true. But it’s worth pointing out that many consider the country to be the “Cradle of Mankind” because it hosts some of the oldest human settlements in the world.
Slotting between Hungary and Ukraine, the African nation ranks 57th globally in terms of gross domestic product (GDP). The Heritage Foundation says its economy is repressed and gave it an “economic freedom” score of almost 48, which puts it in the 156th position out of 184 countries monitored.
Ethiopia, a predominantly agricultural country, is slightly twice the size of Texas, making it the 27th largest country in the world. Over 123 million people live there, which makes it the second most populous African nation. It also benefits from rapid population growth, even though only about 23 percent of its citizens live in cities. However, that growth puts increased pressure on the existing infrastructure and the environment because more and more people are trying to find ways to live better than their parents.
Photo: solenfeyissa on Pixabay
Improvements cost (a lot of) money
Interestingly enough, Ethiopia still needs to make serious investments in electricity transmission and distribution. According to the African Development Bank Group, it has a generation capacity of around 4,400 megawatts (MW). Off-grid installations based on diesel generators or solar-diesel systems also exist, but most of them are private or too small to matter.
The US International Trade Administration praises Ethiopia for having the potential to generate over 60,000 MW from wind, solar, geothermal, and hydroelectric sources but also shows that currently, under 60 percent of the country has access to electricity. Ethiopians, even those living in the capital Addis Ababa, are also forced to deal with occasional power outages.
But those shortcomings have not hindered the country’s environmental efforts, which, believe it or not, make sense in the grand scheme of things.
Earlier this year, Ethiopia, a country with around 10 cars per 1,000 people and not much industry, surprised virtually everyone (including most of its citizens) when it announced that a complete ban on internal combustion engine-powered imports would go into effect at the end of January. Keep in mind that it was a ban on almost all kinds of conventional vehicle imports, not on sales or exports.
Existing inventory could still be offloaded to willing buyers or sent to neighboring countries, albeit at a lower price because sellers were more or less forced to get rid of their diesel- and gas-powered stock.
Photo: info_tofayel on Pixabay
It’s also worth noting that Ethiopia had a customs duty of up to 200 percent of the vehicle’s price for traditional cars brought into the country before the ban became official. They were pretty serious about phasing out vehicles that needed refined dinosaur juice.
A strategy worth following?
Despite having the capacity to generate cheap renewable energy from hydro, wind, and thermal sources, Ethiopia’s main reason for the ban was to get ahead of the imminent transition to zero-tailpipe emission vehicles in richer countries. The African nation didn’t want to become the next Eastern Europe, a region where used vehicles go to live their final days (usually without proper maintenance) and eventually die.
It’s worth noting that some nations have California-inspired “accelerated vehicle retirement” programs, but they’re not enough to convince people to switch. Lower wages and expensive EVs force drivers to keep holding onto their hoopties or imported used rides.
Ethiopia may not have a reliable electrical grid that can reach all its citizens, but it does have insufficient maintenance, delivery, and refinement capabilities for oil and its derivatives. Gas and diesel are expensive for those living in Ethiopia, and the authorities are constantly finding illegal shipments of oil derivatives. Also, the nation has a large reserve of natural gas that has yet to be tapped. They could use it for hydrogen generation through synthesis, even if it isn’t the greenest solution.
Photo: Mohamed_hassan on Pixabay
That may sound like a disastrous recipe for a country that has been involved in numerous armed conflicts with at least one of its neighbors. However, it provides the opportunity for accelerated development. Many African nations skipped the costly investments in building and dismantling landline phone infrastructure and went directly to more affordable and easier-to-deploy cell phone towers. That’s what the country is aiming to do with EVs, especially since it has support from one of America’s most important competitors.
It’s much easier to deploy the necessary infrastructure when investors are confident they’ll have customers and support from the government and the public. Moreover, building a national grid that can make good use of EVs with bidirectional charging can alleviate the problems the country is facing now.
When too much renewable electricity is produced, EV owners can top up their batteries at a lower price and help stabilize the grid. When the power goes out, their cars can act as backup generators. It’s a win-win situation, especially since the state-owned Ethiopia Electric Power company is actively seeking public-private partnerships to expand energy output.
The ban on gas-powered car imports will also help the African nation avoid spending money on fuel imports and prosecuting those who try to bend the law.
Photo: Toyota
No exceptions
Currently, one of the most popular EVs in Ethiopia is Toyota’s bZ4X. The Kia EV6’s and Nissan Ariya’s competitor may not have the greatest range, but it does have vehicle-to-load and vehicle-to-grid capacity. Essentially, bidirectional charging is possible. Many charge their EVs at home, which indicates that the African nation desperately needs public DC charging infrastructure.
But what’s even more interesting than all we’ve said above is the fact that Ethiopia also banned diplomats from bringing their favorite fossil fuel-powered vehicles into the country. So, they are very serious about moving toward an almost fossil fuel-free economy. We might soon see the Tesla Cybertruck with diplomatic plates roaming around Africa.
In the US, which is home to brands like Tesla, Rivian, Lucid, and Electrify America, experts such as Grid Strategies president Rob Gramlich say that around $30 billion a year is needed to ensure a smooth transition to an EV-only country. He argues that fixing old infrastructure isn’t enough; new transmission lines, energy generation, software, contracts, and customer education are also needed.
Photo: geoffmackley on YouTube
However, unlike the US, Ethiopia doesn’t have a high-power charging network for all the over 100,000 EVs currently used by citizens, institutions, and companies. That number may seem impressive, but it represents under 10 percent of all vehicles registered in Ethiopia.
Different mindsets, same objectives
Unfortunately for the US, the African country has strong ties with China, the world’s second-largest economy and a leader in the EV space. The Asian nation has six of the world’s top 10 battery manufacturers and invests in Ethiopia’s infrastructure through loans, expertise, and some industrial support. It has a plant where kits from China get assembled into working EVs.
Photo: ENDEVR on YouTube
Most notably, however, China partially canceled a $14 billion loan in late 2023. It could help its ally become more environmentally friendly by giving it access to affordable Chinese-made EVs or helping it produce them domestically. Or, who knows, maybe it wants priority access to those juicy natural gas reserves.
Ultimately, all of this should be a lesson for people who claim that EVs will overload the grid. While it’s true that many Americans were asked to cut back on their electricity consumption during heat waves, it’s important to remember that EVs can help stabilize the grid and protect home appliances when their vehicle-to-home function is enabled. Further investments in renewable energy generation, solar installations, and smart meters are needed, though!
Until then, the US remains the world’s largest consumer and producer of oil. Maybe that’s one reason why hybrids are so popular with new car shoppers at the moment.
