By Henry Ojelu

Across the world, electric cars are fast becoming the game charger in the automobile industry. With it’s numerous benefits, automakers are already rethinking their long term production plan to key into the technology. It is estimated that by 2030, electric cars will almost completely take over the automobile industry.

Aware of this trend, third world countries are already  making plans not to be left behind. Few months ago, Nigeria launched its first set of locally assembled electric cars with a few charging stations in Lagos and Abuja.

While technology enthusiasts are excited about this development, several obstacles which may impede the seamless adoption of electric cars in third world countries remains a major concern. One of such obstacles is the availability of relevant infrastructure for charging and maintaining the vehicles.

The Big Idea.

To help solve this challenge, Nigeria’s techguru, Samuel Ajiboyede is already on top of his game with a solution. Last week, Ajiboyede who is also the Chief Executive Officer of Zido Logistic, demonstrated before some selected journalists, a re-adapted electric motorbike which he successful incorporate a self charging mechanism into.

Ajiboyede explained that the concept simply converts the rotational motion of the motor present in the motorbike to regenerate a portion of the energy and send it back to the battery.

According him, the same concept can be replicated to make electric car self-charging thereby effectively solving the problem of having to rely on charging stations all the time.

The Harnod Principle

Ajiboyede explained that the concept is rooted on the Harnod regenerative energy principle that every rotational motion can be converted into electrical energy, independent of the source of the motion and provided that the source motor and the generator motor are separated to avoid a clash.

Highlighting the significance of his breakthrough, Ajiboyede hinted that once the concept is fully incorporated into electric cars, users would not have to bother about battery capacity but rather about the percentage of the power that is being returned to the battery since it is a given that some of energy might be lost.

He however pointed out that while the concept does not completely undermine the need for charging infrastructure, it means that third-world countries could kickstart the use of electric vehicles using the cluster approach, setting up one charging station at a time and in selected locations.

He also emphasized that with some energy regenerating from Harnod and a prompter alerting the driver to their reduced battery power, drivers could easily plan their driving so that the energy takes them to the next available charging station.

“Time could also be saved as one can now use the charge-on-the-go feature and schedule recharging for a less busy time of the day,” he said.

No high-capacity battery needed

According to Ajiboyede, the concept would not necessarily require a high-capacity battery, as the charge-on-the-go feature would make up for it. He added that this will then make the electric vehicle a cost-effective replacement for fossil-fuel vehicles and greatly reduces maintenance costs.

What next?

Speaking on his next move with the concept, Ajiboyede said his company is already in talks with some local and foreign investors on how to incorporated the component into any kind of electric powered automobile.

He said: ” We are open for business. This concept is clearly a game charger for the electric car industry and we are excited to be pioneering it. With the right fund from the right investor, we are ready to go into full scale production.”