Unbeknown to most people, the energy required for the process of cryptocurrency mining is significant. A popularised report recently pointed out that a single Bitcoin transaction uses about as much energy as an American household uses in a week. The Ethereum network, the second largest cryptocurrency by market cap, uses more energy than Zambia.

Determined to provide a sustainable solution to these uncomfortable facts, I boarded a plane for Germany.

Walking the streets in cloudy November, one readily forgets that, for 41 years, the city of Bonn was a global capital. Declared the seat of the West German government, it quickly developed a reputation amongst American diplomats as being a sleepy hollow. One correspondent embedded there remarked that it was “half the size of a Chicago cemetery, and twice as dead”.

The city may have been ready to host a flood of visitors in days of yore, prior to the collapse of the Berlin wall. In contemporary times, however, the Bonn hotel industry is not equipped for the influx of diplomats and bureaucrats. The event organisers found a novel solution to this problem. The city is on the banks of the river Rhine. If more hotels can’t be manufactured, why not float one in?

The event was hosted on a river cruise vessel, anchored ashore. The unintended consequence of this was a remarkably creative and focused universe. The 100 participants in the hack stayed aboard, and we convened on the central deck for talks by blockchain industry professionals. After pitching ideas, we teamed up and spent the night developing them. My team comprised members from the US and Canada. We made breakthroughs on how to deploy software to let anyone with excess solar power monetize their asset by pairing it with surplus compute.

The week on the hack4climate boat flew by. Whilst I feel that direct blockchain solutions are still a while away for most applications, I do feel we can sustainably scale cryptocurrencies by unlocking dormant renewable power.

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Cape Agulhas

As with the drive down, charging was never an issue. Hosts were always happy to assist and, in one case, provided me with an extension cord to reach the parking! In most cases, the request to charge the i3 sparked a conversation and connection that one would otherwise not have had with the owners of the various establishments at which I stayed.

Making a plan to charge in the Drakensberg

By this time, I had refined an elevator pitch to explain the operation of the car when refuelling – a ritual that happens often on such a long road trip with only a nine litre tank. The best one-liner I’ve come up with so far is: “It uses electricity in the city, and petrol on long trips.” As sophomoric as this may sound, it actually sums up the value proposition of the car. Great performance from the electric motor and zero-emissions driving in cities – with the option to go on long trips and get the kind of fuel consumption associated with a Diesel-gate manufacturer’s claim.

The usual interest at fuel stops

This too-good-to-be-true combination of acceleration and fuel consumption does come at a cost on longer trips though, and the regular fuel stops are probably not to the liking of all consumers.

What I was curious to find out was: how fuel efficient is this car in real-world conditions on long road trips? I diligently recorded the amount of fuel at each stop and distances covered. Of course, going from sea level to an altitude of 1 700 metres means that this was the less efficient leg of the trip. Nonetheless, the results were very good and resulted in a net fuel consumption of 6.3 litres per 100 km over 2 600 km. I estimate that on the way down, that number was closer to 5.5 litres.

Compared to similar cars, you can’t find anything that has such low consumption and quick acceleration. Diesels match it in terms of fuel use, but are far slower. Performance petrol cars that have similar acceleration use far more fuel. It’s a happy medium that provides the best of both worlds.

Fuel consumption

With the Tesla Model 3 about a year away in South Africa, it’s a matter of time until fuel stations are a thing of the past for me, and I’ll certainly miss the ritual and novelty of introducing someone to the first EV they have seen. I just hope there isn’t a queue at the supercharger station halfway down the route to the coast!

Tsitsikamma National Park

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The ritual of refilling the BMW i3 REX (REX meaning Range-extender – a term for the small petrol generator that can keep this electric vehicle’s battery charged) is the same no matter what city, roadside filling station or small town you come to.

Stopping short of the pump, petrol attendants always ask you to move forward to access what seems to be the petrol flap at the rear. This actually conceals the electric charging port, as the petrol tank is filled at the front of the car. From there you get the same series of questions: Is that a second petrol tank at the back? No – it’s for an electric charger for the battery. How far can you go on a charge? About 130 km. Is the car fast? Yes – it will out-accelerate most performance cars. In fact, up to 40 km an hour it’s the quickest car BMW has ever made.

Making a plan to charge overnight in Amanzimtoti

I once had an owner of a petrol station along the N3 approach me and ask if I could drive him in the car. Impressed by the acceleration, he said: “It’s just a matter of time before I’ll have to close down.” In the long run, he’s right. But petrol cars will be here to stay for another few decades. Bloomberg predicts that by 2022, electric cars will cost the same as their petrol counterparts – but with far lower operating costs. Then there’s the superior performance. Batteries will continue to get smaller and lighter while petrol engines are up against their physical limits.

After all, the world’s fastest production car is the Tesla Model S P100D. Think about that for a second – there is no road-legal Ferrari, Lamborghini, McLaren or Porsche that can accelerate as fast as the Tesla. And yet the Tesla is a tenth of the price of some of its petrol competitors and seats seven people – all this while qualifying for low-emissions rebates in most first-world countries.

The Route

With that reality approaching, I always enjoy indulging people’s curiosity about the i3 – knowing that this is often a person’s first experience with an EV ahead of a future where they will be the norm. Along this route I’ve chosen from Johannesburg to Cape Town via the Drakensberg and Eastern Cape, most people have never seen an electric car, as these vehicles are only sold in larger cities. To my knowledge, no one has attempted a trip as long as this one.

Stopping over in Clarens for the day

The trip was born out of a question I’d often get. Sure, the BMW i3 is great for cruising around town at almost zero fuel cost where you can charge it each night using the home charger, but can it get to Durban? While I’m of the opinion that most motorists overestimate the amount of long trips they actually undertake, I was determined to prove that not only was Durban possible without much inconvenience, but so was an extended and scenic route to Cape Town.

The route I took involved stops in the northern Drakensberg, Clarens, Central Drakensberg, Durban, East London, Kenton-on-Sea and finally Cape Town. The latter leg of the trip was a marathon 874 km, proving that the i3 REX is a match for any distance one may want to do.

Fuel-Efficient technology

Although sold as an EV, the REX version of the i3 is actually what is termed a series hybrid. This means that a small onboard engine acts as a generator to keep the battery charged if you ever run out of electrical energy in the battery. While handy to alleviate range anxiety in South Africa, I find that I have never actually needed it in the city where I start each day with 130 km thanks to an overnight charge. Where it becomes handy is on long road trips. This feature offers the car the convenience of an EV which can be charged for almost nothing in the city, while giving incredible fuel efficiency on long trips.

Ready for the return trip at the last stop in Stellenbosch

The BMW i3 is still the most fuel-efficient car ever sold commercially. This is partly due to the low weight attributed to the carbon-fibre construction of the cabin, and partly due to the full regenerative braking. The novelty never wears off when coming down a mountain pass and watching the battery charge climb as you descend.

I’ve actually done a few long trips before this one. Never anything as bold as Joburg to Cape Town – the long way round – but I’ve made it to the coast at Sodwana, and the Drakensberg is a regular weekend jaunt for me in the i3. I can make it there on less than R200 worth of petrol, so why not?

Between all those prior trips and this epic one, I’ve never found a place where I’ve stayed that has not let me charge the car overnight. This, of course, buys you an extra free 130 km before the petrol generator needs to kick in on the next day’s driving. It’s always fun to see the fascination of the guest-house or hotel owner when they’re presented with a request to charge the car. Offering EV-charging stations is something that more and more hotels and guest houses are doing internationally, and it’s a matter of time until South Africa follows suit. It’s nice to know that this is not the last time they will receive this request.

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Solid Insight’s initiative has already been piloted at GBCSA’s offices in Cape Town in 2014 – and at Solid Green’s offices in Johannesburg – which have just received the first 6-Star Green Star SA Interiors certification for refurbishment undertaken in 2015.

“Solid Insight is like internet banking for your energy,” says Warren Gray, a director at Solid Green. “When users are provided with clear, real-time insight into the workings of their buildings, they are able to pursue sustainability goals as informed and responsible agents.”

The platform presents a building’s environmental data and green features in a way that engages both occupants and visitors by generating accurate live-metering data that are displayed both in building foyers and online – and which can be accessed from any connected device. By integrating with a building’s existing smart-metering systems, the application enables automated billing of energy and water consumption. Environmental reporting is also handled automatically – thus giving stakeholders access to their energy and water use in an easy to read format.

“Many BMS or SCADA systems are complicated and generate too much raw data, making them inaccessible to the average building user,” observes Chilufya Lombe, a Solid Green director. “Solid Insight allows you to display accurate live-metering data in a clear and easy to understand manner, allowing you to influence the behaviour of the users of your building.”

Solid Insight was developed to directly and efficiently address this issue, providing a simple, affordable and presentable system for green-building developers to showcase live-metering data and earn innovation points for a building’s Green Star rating. The system was then extended into the currently available Solid Insight suite, and big plans are afoot for its evolution into a complete solution.

Green City Startup

Earlier this year, Solid Insight entered Green City Startup, an initiative of the City of Johannesburg in collaboration with the University of Johannesburg and Resolution Circle, which aims to give innovative entrepreneurs with ideas in building, energy, water, transport or waste the opportunity to develop their ideas into green startups.

Solid Insight was selected as a top-20 candidate and, following an investor pitch for the Green City Startup judging panel on 10 March, was selected in the top eight. Using a R250 000 grant awarded for this purpose, the Solid Insight team is developing the platform further in anticipation of the top-three adjudication in August. This will require demonstration of a working prototype that has market traction. The first-place winner will receive an additional R1 million from the City, with prizes of R500 000 and R300 000 for second and third places, respectively.

“A further advantage of the system is that building owners can use the system to inform, educate and instil pride in a building’s users,” Gray adds. “By giving occupants access to resource-consumption data, as well as tools to affect that consumption, tenants, clients and prospective tenants know just how much you are doing to mitigate your lettable space’s carbon footprint.”

A direct benefit to building owners and developers is that the Solid Insight service is approved for earning Innovation points when determining a building’s GBCSA Green Star rating. Solid Insight is recommended for all commercial real estate, including office, retail, industrial and residential developments that either already have smart energy and water meters or are looking for such solutions.

More information on Solid Insight is available at the Solid Insight website, and Green City Startup on Twitter  (#GreenCityStartup, @TheGCStartup) and the Green City Startup website.

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