Sapa
It could cost a lot of green to put South Africa’s first home-grown “green” vehicle, the Joule electric car, into commercial production.
“The projected (yet to be verified) investment required to commercialise the Joule is approximately R9 billion,” Science and Technology Minister Naledi Pandor said in a written reply to a parliamentary question yesterday. This amount would cover “all production-related matters such as production development, manufacturing and retail operations, to mention but a few”.
The battery-driven Joule – developed and designed by Cape Town-based Optimal Energy – is aimed at urban users. It has a maximum range of 300km and a top speed of 135km an hour.
The government has a stake in Optimal Energy through the Industrial Development Corporation and the Innovation Fund.
To date, a few score hand-built Joules had been produced as demonstration models, Science and Technology director-general Phil Mjwara confirmed yesterday.
Since 2006, the government had invested R125 million on the development of the Joule, but he denied that planned production of the electric vehicle had stalled.
Discussions were under way with the Department of Trade and Industry and other stakeholders on the best way forward. “These will be tabled early next year,” he said.
Pandor said finding a “one-stop” investor for the Joule project had proved a challenge. “The signal from potential investors is that they may consider partnering on parts of the value chain.”
She said the government was developing a position paper on the Joule. “(This) will indicate government support and plans for the electric vehicle industry.”
A second-generation prototype of the Joule will be among examples of green technology on display in Durban next week, during the UN climate conference.