Unlocking the Joint Potential of Electric Mobility and Rural Electrification - A Concept for Improved Integration using Modular Batteries

Rural electrification is a major challenge in Africa and is needed to enable self-driven economic growth in oft-neglected regions. Progress has been slow however with many projects facing financial difficulties. Meanwhile, electric vehicles offer multiple technological and economic benefits in the context compared to conventional ones. If both sectors are integrated synergistically through the vehicles, they might experience a joint acceleration in proliferation. We present a research concept to explore such synergies, i.e. identify optimal system configurations and energy management approaches for both users and system operators through an open-source model framework. Furthermore, we propose hybrid vehicle battery systems as a solution to electrification of heavier vehicles in minigrids, enhancing previous concepts for micromobility and 'wireless' minigrids.