- Nigeria’s National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC) last week unveiled a solar-powered, electric vehicle charging station.
- The new charging facility is located at the Engineering Faculty of the University of Lagos (UNILAG).
At the launch, Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Otunba Niyi Adebayo, said the project initiated by the NADDC was in tandem with government’s focus on designing and promoting advanced technology transfer and the development of sophisticated human capital.
“This charging station has been developed by the NADDC in its efforts to promote applicable local solutions for Vehicle Electrification in Nigeria. It will offer students firsthand experience with the latest innovations in mobility and renewable power technology. It is strategized to be an effective platform for focused Research and Development into even more applicable Vehicle Electrification solutions for Nigeria and Africa,” added Adebayo.
With the commissioning of the charging station, Nigeria will join the rest of the world in embracing the recent innovation in energy mobility towards renewable and sustainable energy sources. Image credit: NADDC
Director-general of the NADDC, Jelani Aliyu,said the council took note of today’s industrial revolution characterised by advanced technologies, robotics, AI, block chain technology and other incredible solutions.
“For the automotive sector it means vehicles that are highly embedded with ICT solutions, connectivity between the vehicles themselves, their users and the road infrastructure. It means vehicles that think for themselves and are, therefore, safer, more efficient and better for humanity,” he said.
The UNILAG EV charging station is 100 percent solar-powered. The installation consist of 60 Monocrystalline panels which have a capacity of 86.4 kilowatts per hour plus 3 online-offline 5KVA Hybrid inverters synchronized together to give 15 KVA/48 WATTS. The Power bank consists of 36 units of dry cell, deep cycle batteries of up to 95Kwh storage capacity.
The system provides ordinary 13A and 15A sockets that can support all types normal chargers. The station also provides a 7.4kw CCS fast charger and can support up to 11kw types.
Author: Bryan Groenendaal
