A former Dakar Rally driver has led a French team across Africa, north to south, in electric cars powered entirely by renewable energy — the first to do so.
Eric Vigouroux followed in the metaphorical tyre treads of a famous French expedition exactly a century ago — the first motorised cross of the African continent, achieved in eight months by a 12-member French crew in eight Citroën vehicles.
By contrast, Vigouroux's all-electric fleet took just short of four months, finishing on Thursday in Cape Town — a total distance of 13,500km from their starting point in Ouarzazate in Morocco.
“We made it, and we are super happy,” Vigouroux told TimesLIVE Premium shortly after their arrival. “We feel that we are very lucky to have the chance to do such a long trip. It has been a dream that I had for a very long time, since I was a teenager.”
When people realised our cars were electric and running on solar, they would start to smile and be friends. They wanted to know how they worked and whether they could try it
— Eric Vigouroux
Vigouroux is a veteran of 15 Dakar Rallies, the world's premier endurance race for cars and motorbikes. But his career took a turn 12 years ago when he pursued an interest in sustainable energy. Inspired by the story of the original Africa automobile crossing, known as La Croisière Noire (The Black Crossing), he initiated his own La Croisière Verte (The Green Crossing), aimed both to commemorate the original expedition and drive innovation in the renewable energy space.
Their trip involved four Citroën AMI cars, modified for the harsh terrain, with slightly wider tyres and reinforced chassis and suspension. They each carried a mobile fold-out recharging unit that gave them a range of 300km, with a maximum of 600km achieved while crossing Mauritania.
Along the way the team visited various renewable energy plants to help promote the African green energy sector.
"We used wind [charge] only once in Mauritania. We went four times to hydroelectric plants and everything else was solar," Vigouroux said.
"Solar plants we found in some countries and most of the time [we used] our own solar panels. We could store 44 of them in each car. It took us five to six hours to fully charge our 30kWh battery pack in each car. Our range was between 400km and 600km, depends on the inclination and the speed."
The expedition was closely followed in France, where Citroën is a popular brand.
Vigouroux, who endured much during his many Dakar rallies, nearly had to abort his latest mission after falling seriously ill in central Africa. However, he recovered quickly and was able to lead the team the rest of the way down the west coast of Africa.
The group had no fixed itinerary and were guided by available sunlight charge, with Vigouroux comparing their journey to that of a sailing trip dependent upon the wind: “We were moving at the speed of the sun.”
Their unusual cars helped ease potentially tricky border crossings and helped them navigate many informal roadblocks. “When people realised our cars were electric and running on solar, they would start to smile and be friends. They wanted to know how they worked and whether they could try it.”
He said Angola was a personal highlight, as well as the proximity to wild animals in Namibia. “We got super close to elephant, giraffe and rhinos.”
The cars will now be packed into containers and shipped back to France.
Vigouroux said he hopes the expedition will help change attitudes towards renewable energy, particularly among the youth.
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