Kenyan-based company Aquilastar Corporate Investment with the support of a United Arab Emirates investor has broken ground on a $150 million electric vehicle and accessory plant at KenGen’s industrial park that is located in Olkaria Naivasha. The Olkaria EV Plant is among the high-tech projects announced for Olkaria, the other one being a large-scale data center.
Aquilastar has an aim of producing 50,000EV units every year. Additionally, the company seeks to create 13,000 both direct jobs and indirect jobs. This will be achieved with the support of UAE-based Alsayegh Group. Alsayegh Group is a conglomerate with investors in technology, financial services, education, automotive, and oil and gas.
Project Factsheet
Project type: Electric Vehicle (EV) manufacturing and assembly plant
Location: Olkaria Geothermal Area, Naivasha, Kenya (Within a designated Geothermal Special Economic Zone)
Cost: $150 million
Company: Aquilastar
Unique feature: The plant is seeking to negotiate long-term power contracts with KenGen to be tethered directly to baseload geothermal renewable energy supply. This would make it one of the world’s few EV plants powered by consistent, carbon-free geothermal energy.
Economic implication: Consistent geothermal power supply is expected to offer predictable production costs, potentially giving Kenyan-made EVs a cost advantage over imports.
Location and Size of Project’s Site
The upcoming EV plant will be located in KenGen’s Green Energy Park. This park covers a total of 845 acres at the Olkaria Geothermal field.
Also, the park has been designed to host industrial and non-industrial activities which include offices, data centres, research and development hubs, hospitality amenities, visitor experience facilities, and commercial services.
According to Mr. Alsayegh, the plant will produce up to 50,000 units every year. Furthermore, it will be able to directly employ 3,000 Kenyans and generate another 10,000 indirect jobs while developing a local supply chain for EV accessories in Kenya.
Benefits of EV Adoption to Kenya
Additionally, Aquilastar Managing Director and CEO Barbara Modani Alwena, highlighted that the adoption of EV offers Kenya an opportunity to reduce its dependence on fossil fuel imports. These imports usually cost Ksh600 billion to Ksh700 billion every year.
“This EV plant project is not just unveiling a new product but lighting up a bold vision for the future of mobility, sustainability, and innovation in Kenya,” she stated.
Significance of the Olkaria EV Plant
Lastly, the CEO of KenGen Peter Njenga stated that the EV plant would assist in driving Kenya’s industrialisation goals.
“This is not just breaking ground on a new plant. We are breaking ground on a new chapter of industrialisation in the continent. Its is a chapter powered by clean energy, durable jobs, and local innovations,” Njenga stated.
Also, he affirmed the investors that KenGen is revamping its installations. This is in order to make sure there is uninterrupted power supply, targeting generation of 1,500MW by 2034. 834MW is expected to be generated from geothermal energy.
