The proposed project is founded on the observation that the social and economic background on which the engineering architecture for electric vehicles is currently based, serves as a major barrier for ordinary Kenyans to make effective use of the available basic technology to lower their carbon footprint in vehicle transportation. The central idea of the proposed initiative is an engineering innovation that can make electric vehicle technology available to ordinary Kenyans in a way that is both affordable and suitable for the operating environment of public transport in Kenya.
The Children and Youth Empowerment Centre (CYEC), which is the proposing organization, is a Community Based Organization (CBO), based in Nyeri, Central Kenya. The Centre?s core business is to rescue, rehabilitate and reintegrate street dwelling children and youth and other such highly vulnerable young persons. In making the proposal, the CYEC expects to create job opportunities for its target population. The CYEC intends to work with its partnerships network in universities, businesses, government and the community to realize the project?s objectives.
The main activities of the project revolve around retrofitting a petrol or diesel engine van to run on an electric motor and using this platform to test the specific innovation in the charging system that if successful would make electric vehicle technology viable for the kind of public transport used by ordinary Kenyans (matatus). The idea is to run a thorough test of the technology to generate the information necessary for development of a meaningful electric matatu business plan.
If successful the proposed initiative would fit within the Kenya National Adaptation Plan (2015-2030), Section 4, on Science, Technology and Innovations, specifically on promoting technology prototypes. The project?s aim is to retrofit 100 matatus over a 5-year period, with a release of approximately 2.5 tons of CO2e avoided per day.