Doug Jenman of Cape Town says: "We have adequate energy available to power our future - we just have to learn how to harness it."
And that's what his company is called: Adequate Energy. He supplies industrial electric controllers as well as a neat line in battery-assisted mountain bikes - and he would like to supply non-polluting electric scooters to South Africa's commuters but the law won't let him.
SABS motorcycle expert Paul Barber explained: "The law sees scooters in terms of engine capacity, such as 50cc or 125cc. Electric scooters are defined in terms of wattage.
"The scooter Adequate Energy would like to market in South Africa has a power output of two kiloWatts; it's about the equivalent of a 50cc scooter.
"50cc scooters are not allowed on motorways but, if this scooter were licensed for use on South African roads, there would be no way to prevent it being used on freeways because its "capacity" cannot be defined."
Enough legal hair-splitting; what's it like to ride?
The Adequate Energy looks like any other scooter until you notice there's no motor under the seat - only a big, square battery box. The brushless motor is in the rear hub, alongside the rear drum brake.
Aside from adding unsprung weight - not really a problem on city streets - it's a very clever place to put the motor. There's no clutch, transmission losses are nil and the engine is well protected by the rear tyre.
The controls are as simple as any other scooter, except you don't have to start this one; there's a key switch to turn it on and off, a twist-grip and two buttons for low and high-speed operation.
No, not gears, Cyril, this thing doesn't have a transmission, remember. The hub motor has two connections to the windings of its stator, one of which gives more torque, the other more revs - power output is the same in both modes.
You turn the key to switch it on, hit the red button for "low-range" and twist the throttle: unlike internal combustion engines, electric motors produce maximum torque from zero revs so its initial acceleration is startling.
It gets up to 20km/h a lot faster than the average 50cc scooter - with nothing more than a quiet, musical hum. Then the hum becomes a little tuneless and the acceleration drops off, so you push the green button.
Hill climbing
A solenoid switches the connection from one winding to the other (you can hear it and feel it!) and the scooter continues accelerating smoothly up to about 55km/h on a flat road.
Cape Town, however, is anything but flat so I pointed the Adequate Energy electric scooter at a few hills; in low range it went up an incline of approximately 10 percent (a rise of one metre for every 10 of horizontal progress) with my 106kg aboard, at a steady 20km/h.
There are plenty of 50cc scooters (legally) on the market in SA that won't do that.
The factory claims the scooter will go 100km on a charge but under Cape Town conditions (wind and hills) it'll do 50-60km before; it takes about five hours to recharge - that's about 80c at current Eskom rates or R1.60/100km.
The factory also claims that the battery will last for 600 cycles; Jenman conservatively estimates 400 (about 18 months of weekday use), after which the battery will need replacing at about R1500 - not too bad considering that's all the service the scooter will ever need, other than tyres and brake pads.
Fast enough
The scooter I rode would sell for about R11 000 - if it were legal for sale in South Africa.
Jenman was confident that as battery technology improved he would be able to offer an electric scooter with the same performance as a 125cc four-stroke for not much more than the price of petrol-powered equivalent.
Until then the Adequate Energy scooter is fine for commuting, even if it's not fast enough to be used on a freeway.
It's just not legal.