Roam Electric Motorcycle Proves Solar-Powered Travel Feasible in Africa’s Remote Regions by completing a groundbreaking 6000km solar-powered motorcycle journey

 In 17 days, Roam’s electric motorcycle demonstrated how renewable energy could enable long-distance travel, even in regions with minimal charging infrastructure. While the world record for the longest electric motorcycle journey is 25,000 kilometers (11,300 miles), achieved in 42 days in the U.S., Roam’s African journey aimed to showcase the potential of solar-powered mobility across rural landscapes. Masa Kituyi, a Roam product owner and one of the riders, said, “We wanted to challenge the notion that you can’t travel through sub-Saharan Africa without pre-installed charging infrastructure.”

Kituyi and Stephan Lacock, a Stellenbosch University postgraduate student studying the Roam Air’s powertrain, took turns riding through Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, and Botswana. They navigated both highways and dirt roads, stopping to experience landmarks like Victoria Falls and Chobe River. While traveling around 400 kilometers (250 miles) per day with battery swaps every 80 kilometers (50 miles), they found that their greatest challenge was dealing with weather; cloud cover forced route adjustments to maximize sunlight for charging.

Roam’s experiment aimed to prove that solar energy could sustain electric motorcycles in places without access to a power grid. According to Kituyi, the journey was meant to ease “range anxiety” and underscore that, with some planning, long trips can be powered even without a support car: “Anywhere you can charge your phone, you can charge the bike,” he said. The Roam Air motorcycle relied on a solar panel charging system carried by a support vehicle that would pause ahead to charge batteries, ready for swaps as the bike caught up. Over the trip, the Roam Air set a new single battery range record of 113 kilometers (70 miles), and on the final day, it covered an impressive 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) within 18 hours.

Roam’s collaboration with Stellenbosch University, which recently launched an Electric Mobility Lab to support sustainable transport, allowed the company to contribute two bikes to further electric vehicle research in Africa. Kituyi notes that “accelerated testing” is a key component, as it involves multiple charge cycles per day to understand battery and bike durability. With the new lab facilities, Roam can now conduct these tests within Africa, benefitting from a climate that mirrors real-world use cases and advancing the region’s electric vehicle market.

Africa’s electric vehicle sector, currently valued at $16 billion, is expected to reach $25 billion by 2029, driven by government incentives and a rise in investment. For example, Rwanda is encouraging electrification by eliminating import taxes on EVs and promoting charging infrastructure. Roam’s journey not only highlights solar energy’s role in sustainable mobility but also sets a precedent for Africa’s growing electric transport industry.