Subaru Supports Trial Of World’s Most Remote EV Charge Point

1,200 miles off the southwest coast of Africa is the isolated island of Saint Helena. The island was famous for being the final place of exile for Napoleon; is also home to a 192-year-old tortoise named Jonathan, and it now hosts the world's most remote public electric charging point.

The charger forms part of a plan for the island to run on sustainable power and have zero-emission transport by the end of the decade.

Global car manufacturer Subaru, and Norwegian electric vehicle charger Easee, have collaborated with the St Helena Government to test the feasibility, adaptability and reliability of electric vehicle use on one of the most remote inhabited islands on the planet.

The two-month trial involved an Easee charger being installed beside the island's Jamestown Museum, which was connected to the island's grid via power provider Connect St Helena Ltd. First to use the charger was a Subaru Solterra that was later put through its paces across the rugged St Helena landscape.

Only four electric vehicles are in use in St Helena and none use the latest EV technology. This meant the Solterra drew a lot of attention when it landed on St Helena shores. After vigorous testing on sealed and dirt roads, the Solterra used no more than 20% of its battery capacity over a dynamic 50-mile run.

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St Helena has a wind farm and a solar array that provide up to 25% of the island’s power needs while the rest is generated by a diesel power station. The power station uses £5M ($6M) of fuel which is shipped from South Africa each year. This said, the St Helena Government plans to have 80% of the island's power generated by renewable sources, such as solar and wind, by 2028.

The Easee charging point will remain on the island and become part of its expanding EV infrastructure that will support a fleet of small electric cars being imported for tourist and islander use this year.

“From Subaru’s perspective, it's an honor to be involved in a project that could potentially lead to a fully sustainable future for Saint Helena,” commented Lorraine Bishton, Managing Director of Subaru UK.

“It's a real testament to the Subaru's reliability and capability that we're not sending a technician with the Solterra. And to be honest, if you can operate an electric vehicle in this type of environment then you really can anywhere.” Bishton adds.

St Helena Minister for Treasury And Economic Development, Mark Brooks, says: "“The next step is to roll out the infrastructure so that we are using electric vehicles more and more on the island. There are a lot of diesel and petrol vehicles primarily and we want to change that behavior and start to use more electric vehicles.”