Electric truck journey puts Addis-Nairobi freight corridor to the test

An electric truck's 1,600-kilometre journey from Addis Ababa to Nairobi has put East Africa's ambitions for cleaner freight to a practical test.

This as industry players now asking whether electric vehicles can move beyond demonstrations and become part of regular commercial transport.

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The journey, undertaken under the Road to Nairobi initiative, retraced the Addis Ababa-Nairobi corridor about a year after an earlier fully electric cross-border convoy.

The latest expedition sought to assess what has changed in charging and power infrastructure and what more is needed for electric freight to operate routinely along the regional trade route.

Speaking at an evening reception at the Norwegian Ambassador's residence in Nairobi following the Africa EV Freight Forum and the conclusion of the Road to Nairobi expedition, Norwegian Ambassador to Kenya Siv Cathrine Moe said the initiative reflected the Nordic spirit of cooperation and a shared interest in supporting practical solutions for the green transition.

“Over the past weeks, the Road to Africa expedition has brought attention to the opportunities emerging across East Africa as transport systems evolve, and has also invited us to reflect on an important question: how can transport continue to drive economic growth, trade and connectivity, while at the same time contributing to climate goals and energy security?” Moe said.

“Norway's own experience has told us that change requires a clear political direction.”

Road to Nairobi is part of Road to Africa, a multi-year initiative that drives electric vehicles along the continent's trade routes to test and document charging and power infrastructure.

The latest expedition covered the Addis Ababa-Nairobi corridor in the opposite direction to the previous journey, providing an opportunity to assess the progress and remaining gaps along the route.

Swedish representative Madeleine Fries Martinelle said the ultimate test was not simply whether an electric truck could complete the journey, but whether electric freight could work commercially.

“The commercial test is straightforward. A truck that delivers its load, a bus that completes its service, an operator who can make the numbers work,” Martinelle said.

She said the opportunity was to connect Nordic capabilities with African operators, utilities and entrepreneurs through road assessments, reliable charging infrastructure, technician training and fleet financing.

“The opportunity is to connect these capabilities with African operators, utilities and entrepreneurs through road assessments, reliable charging, technician training and fleet finance,” she said.

And for Paul Kidero, expedition lead for the Road to Africa expedition series, the journeys began with a simple question: whether electric vehicles could handle Africa's long roads.

Kidero said the team had since travelled about 5,000 kilometres from Kigali to the port of Beira through five countries, while the recent activities in Ethiopia also involved electric commuter buses and an electric prime-mover truck.

He further said, "Some of the most revealing lessons we encountered from everyday experiences on the road, where our team charged a Kabisa electric pickup at hotels, with owners expecting a large electricity bill but being surprised by how little the cost was."

The expeditions have also provided a glimpse into the scale of Africa's freight challenge, with the electric vehicles sharing roads with thousands of trucks moving goods for landlocked countries.

“At some borders, the queues stretched to 10 kilometres, or even more,” Kidero stated.

“That's where the biggest opportunity sits, in cleaner trucks and faster buses.”

The expedition has also highlighted the importance of investment in infrastructure, technology and skills as East Africa considers a transition from conventional diesel-powered freight.

Smart Freight Centre Senior Strategy Advisor Herman Sips said the journey was part of a broader effort to turn climate commitments into practical action while aligning investment with efforts to cut transport emissions.

Sips said the potential benefits of transport decarbonisation extended beyond climate action to include health gains, lower costs and reduced dependence on imported oil.

The Ambassador further emphasised that the transition to electric mobility has been driven by a combination of policy support, financial incentives and investment in charging infrastructure.

She said 98 per cent of new cars sold in Norway were now electric, while more than 30 per cent of the country's entire car fleet was electric.

“Change requires a clear political direction,” Moe said, adding that sustainable choices needed to be made practical, predictable and attractive to consumers and businesses.

The Nordic representatives said Africa's transition would nevertheless require solutions suited to its own transport systems and economic realities.

The Road to Nairobi expedition is part of the wider Road to Africa initiative, which uses real journeys along the continent's trade routes to test and document charging and power infrastructure.

Its findings are also expected to contribute to wider discussions on investment and transport decarbonisation, including preparations for COP32 in Addis Ababa.

For East Africa, the bigger question now is whether the successful completion of the journey can translate into reliable charging networks, commercially viable electric fleets and regular zero-emission freight along the region's major trade corridors.