Fuel prices are just ridiculous. Carbon dioxide emissions are screwing up the planet. Whichever way you look at it, the days of petrol-powered cars are numbered. Electric cars are the way of the future. Most prominently General Motors are developing the Volt, designed to run purely on electricity from on-board batteries for up to 64 km, due in the US by 2010.

But South Africa isn't far behind — coming soon is the Joule. Developed by Cape Town-based Optimal Energy, the zero emission six-seater MPV (multi-purpose vehicle) is Africa's first all electric car, due within two years.

And, like the Volt, it proves that electric cars needn't look like one of those blocky things drawn by five-year-olds — the vehicle, making its debut at this week's Paris Motor Show, is designed by the man who came up with some of Jaguar's most iconic cars.

"The world's finite energy sources are being used inefficiently and urban transport plays a major role in energy wastage and climate changing pollution. Joule is Optimal Energy's solution to change that," explains the company's CEO Kobus Meiring, who was previously project manager of The Southern African Large Telescope (SALT) — the largest single optical telescope in the southern hemisphere — at Sutherland.

"We have capitalised on the opportunity presented by the exponential increase in oil costs and the dramatic improvement in battery price, life and performance," Joule’s value proposition is made more compelling when environmental influences such as increasing pollution and global warming phenomena caused by the rapid increase in urbanisation are also considered. Furthermore, Joule is fully aligned with Optimal Energy’s vision to establish and lead the electric vehicle industry in South Africa as a springboard to global expansion," continues the man who also managed the development of the Rooivalk helicopter.

Joule's interior and exterior was styled by South African-born Keith Helfet who, as chief stylist at Jaguar was responsible for such iconic designs as the XJ220, the XK180 and the F-Type.

So it looks the part. But how the hell does it work?

Joule's chassis has been designed to accommodate two large-cell lithium ion battery packs which employ chemistry similar to that used in mobile phones and laptop computers. This chemistry is inherently safe; lithium is found in many medicinal applications and the batteries do not contain any heavy metals.

Using a normal 220 Volt home outlet and Joule's onboard charger, it will take approximately seven hours to recharge Joule’s battery for a 200km driving range, with two packs providing 400km in total. Joule's battery bay is also able to accommodate a number of different battery configurations from different suppliers, giving you the choice of performance and cost.

"Studies show that 99 percent of urban users drive less than 150km a day. Optimal Energy recommends that only one battery pack is necessary to power Joule," continues Meiring.

In theory that's no problem. But can the Mighty Load Shedders — aka Eskom — hold up their end of the deal?

Meiring believes they can. According to independent analysis of the electricity provider, the South African grid has enough capacity to supply electrical energy to millions of cars without affecting its customer base or requiring any additional infrastructure. Eskom has vast amounts of excess energy between 11pm and 6am so this will be the recommended recharging time.

Electric cars only require about 20 percent of the energy that conventional cars require — this means that the total emissions are much less, even if Eskom's coal- dominated electricity is used. With the global trend of electricity generation becoming more renewable and cleaner, total emissions caused by electric cars will continue to shrink.

Gauteng is currently being evaluated for Joule's first assembly plant and, although supplier lists are not yet final, it is expected that the local content of Joule will be more than 50 percent.

Joule will be sold in Gauteng, Cape Town and Durban and will be available towards the end of 2010. The car was developed for the international market and sales and exports will follow shortly after the South African launch.

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