Eskom establishes large-scale battery test and demonstration facility

Eskom establishes large-scale battery test and demonstration facility
Not actual electric vehicle news but EV related news. Creamer Media's Engineering News reports that South African power utility Eskom has unveiled a battery testing and demonstration facility at Eskom’s Research and Innovation Centre in Rosherville, Johannesburg. The purpose of this facility is to compare different types of battery storage to help support the grid and also store renewable energy sources such as solar.

This will be especially relevant for the inevitable imminent increase in the number of electric vehicles on the roads. One of the common criticisms of electric vehicles by South Africans is that our power grid has been notoriously unreliable over the past decade. Obviously for electric cars to be viable a reliable source of electricity is vital. With Eskom now looking at power storage systems it looks like we are on the way to having a more stable grid.

1974 Enfield 8000 electric motor car The first electrically self-powered car in South Africa

The Enfield 8000 was a small two seat electric car car manufactured by Enfield Automotive on the Isle of Wight in the United Kingdom between 1973-1977. The Enfield 8000 had a 6kw electric motor powered by lead acid batteries for a top speed of 77kmh and a maximum range of 64km. It also had a form of regenerative braking.

An example of the Enfield 8000 was brought to South Africa by Haggie Rand in 1974 to promote and expand a chloride battery project. In 1992 it came into the ownership of Mr B. Pollock to
promote the environmental aspect of the electric car. Eskom acquired it in 1994 to start The Electric Vehicle Project. They then donated it to the James Hall Museum of Transport in Johannesburg where it sits on display to this day.

I remember back in the early 1990's reading in a newspaper or seeing something on television about Eskom acquiring an electric car. My memory convinced me it was a Honda Civic but I searched a while back for an electric Honda Civic from the 90's without any luck. Now finally I realise it was quite obviously the Enfield 8000 I remember hearing about. An example of how malleable the human memory can be.