Globally, exhaust gas emissions from automobiles (cars, trucks, buses and motorbikes) account for three-quarters of greenhouse and much of world’s transport system depends heavily of fossil fuels. It is a well-established fact that vehicular emissions contribute to the rise in global temperature and therefore the development and implementation of environmentally friendly vehicles have become an urgent issue (Arakawa, 2018). Electric vehicles (EVs) have been proven to have an excellent environmental performance because they do not produce exhaust gas emissions. The move toward EVs is now a global trend and some European and Asian countries are considering policies to prohibit of the sales of gasoline vehicles (GVs) in the future. The rise in the price of oil and pollution issues has increased the interest on the development of electric vehicles (IEA, 2017). Most passenger vehicles in Botswana use Internal combustion engines which contribute to air pollution and greenhouse gases (GHG).  Reduction of greenhouse gas requires large-scale deployment of electric vehicles (EVs), including battery powered electric vehicles and hybrids that can be plugged and charged from the main grid or at residential places in order to achieve long-term benefits on greenhouse gas reduction. Because of abundance of critical mineral such as aluminum, chrome, cobalt, copper, iron, lead, lithium, manganese, nickel, platinum, tin, uranium and zinc, development of high-density batteries could be done locally there by reducing the cost of electric vehicles.

In this project, we intend to convert an internal combustion engine vehicle to an electric vehicle. Electric vehicles are known to significantly contribute to greenhouse gas reduction. As fossil fuels become increasingly expensive, electric vehicles will be the preferred mode of transportation for most passengers. Successful completion of this project will pave way for more ICE to EV conversions using available petrol/diesel vehicles and ultimately the establishment of locally made electric vehicles. Electric vehicle (EV) made in Europe and USA are expensive and require expensive charging infrastructure which most of Batswana cannot afford. Electric vehicles utilize electric motors for propulsion (DC or AC motors), using electric energy stored in rechargeable batteries. The fundamental difference between conventional, thermal cars and electric cars is in the process of transforming the potential energy into kinetic energy.  In Internal combustion engine (ICE), this energy is stored in a chemical form (petrol, diesel, biodiesel and etc) and is released through a chemical reaction inside the engine. On the contrary, electric cars release the energy stored in the batteries electrochemically without any kind of combustion. This means that there is no environmental pollution from fuel being burned and therefore no emission of CO2 while driving. Electric cars are generally quiet when moving and the noise generated is the humming sound from the motor. Charging of EVs can be at pre-installed charging stations, residential places and public areas or in filling stations that are equipped with required infrastructure for EVs.

Supplementary power will be derived from Photo Voltaic (PV) modules connected either in parallel or series and wind power (Essam et al 2018). Charge controllers will direct solar power/wind power to the batteries (Zeng et al 2013). Burning fossil fuels in the engines of passenger cars and light trucks causes air pollution that both contributes to global climate change and reduces local air quality. Because of global warming which in part is attributed to ICE engines, there is a strong desire to move from ICE to EVs. To make EVs attractive, governments should introduce incentives such as tax credits and non-monetary incentives (Arakawa 2018). In most countries, 80% of commuters travel less than 60 km per day, and 50% of commuters travel 50 km (or less) per day and therefore a converted ICE can meet daily driving needs.