China isn't just exporting EVs anymore, it's exporting electrification. On 29 April 2026, Ethiopia deployed its first fleet of 50 electric heavy-duty trucks at the Bishoftu International Airport megaproject, with another 42 trucks arriving soon. This isn't just about replacing diesel. It's about reducing fuel imports, cutting operating costs,... improving air quality and proving that heavy transport can electrify, even in emerging economies. Don't be surprised to see the same model replicated across mining, logistics and construction projects throughout Africa, LATAM and the Global South. The energy transition isn't waiting for the developed world anymore. It's already being built across it. 🌍⚡ #EV #Electrification #Africa #EnergyTransition #Bettrificationshow more

While the US is doubling down on digging up more oil, coal and gas, China is investing billions to help the Global South leapfrog the fossil fuel era altogether. One nation is spending enormous effort protecting the past. The other is investing in building the future. History rarely rewards those who fight progress. And cost always wins. 🏆

The significant factor many still miss when defending ICE and talking down EV isn’t just the vehicle but the supply chain that sits behind it. Many counties suffered enormously with this latest energy crisis and they are tired of being exposed to these issues and want change

Exactly. Once you've lived through fuel price shocks and supply disruptions a few times, energy security stops being an abstract concept. Producing more of your own energy at home is a massive strategic advantage, and that's driving policy far beyond just climate goals.

The second-order effect is even more interesting. Countries aren’t just importing electric trucks—they’re importing a new energy system. Every heavy-duty EV deployed increases the need for charging infrastructure, transformers, grid upgrades and reliable electricity.

Exactly. They're not just buying trucks, they're accelerating electrification. Every electric truck creates demand for chargers, transformers, substations, stronger distribution networks and, ultimately, more electricity generation. It's one reason electrifying transport becomes a catalyst for modernising the entire energy system, not just replacing diesel.

When China builds infrastructure, they lend the money to the government and the people. This means they can sell their products to that country and get back interest. They can also negotiate for minerals and other resources that the country has. Its a great strategy.

It's a strategy that combines finance, industrial policy and geopolitics. Smart.

Ethiopia ahead of Australia with heavy transport electrification. Janus electric an earlier leader in recycling expensive polluting class 8 prime movers now. Converting them to fully electric runs on the board in Australia and now in the US. Credit to Lex Forsyth and his team for vision and a solution for existing prime movers! Janus Electric: ~25 trucks converted in Australia (600k+ km, 3500+ swaps, 1578t CO2 cut). US/Canada orders: 112 conversions. Savings: ~20c/km vs diesel, up to 60-70% energy/fuel costs.

@electricfelix And it can’t happen fast enough because it is already overdue.

@electricfelix Absolutely. Every year we delay electrification is another year of importing fuel, paying higher operating costs and exposing ourselves to oil price shocks. The technology is ready, now it's mostly a question of deployment.

And the power supply to recharge 50 electric heavy-duty trucks?? Massive.

Massive? Not really. Even assuming a hefty 500 kWh battery in every truck, fully recharging all 50 would require about 25 MWh. Spread across eight hours, that is just over 3 MW, or around 6 MW over four hours. Ethiopia now has roughly 9.7 GW of generating capacity, overwhelmingly renewable and mostly hydropower. The 5.15 GW Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam alone could theoretically supply that charging load using about 0.1% of its output. The real challenge is local chargers and grid connections, not national electricity generation.

Some of the smartest policies on the planet are happening in Ethiopia!! 🇪🇹

It's sure becoming a fascinating case study. Between prioritising electrification, restricting ICE imports and leveraging its renewable electricity, Ethiopia is showing how developing economies can leapfrog legacy systems instead of repeating them.

Did you know that Brazil produced 100,000 Chinese EVs this year.

And that's just the beginning. Chinese automakers aren't just exporting cars anymore, they're exporting manufacturing. Local production creates jobs, builds supply chains and makes EVs more affordable across South America.

Pretty sure “West” will hang onto diesel trucks same way as our great grandparents hung onto horses

Pretty much. Every disruptive technology looks impossible until it becomes cheaper. Horses didn't disappear because people stopped liking horses, they disappeared because cars were more productive. Diesel trucks will face the same economics once electric reaches the tipping point.

Only big difference is that while cars/ICE as you say cheaper efficient etc liking horses had no wider costs whereas delaying electrification fm whim or protecting FF profit avoidably amplifies GHG & lethal impacts- hope right & tipping point for diesel arriving thanks to China

Meh, ….. Heavy duty electric equipment is mostly smoke and mirrors There’s plenty of diesel and big dirt and rock projects need dirty diesel. Planet earth eats diesel fumes like ice cream, and if men lived and cared for one another the way God intended, we’d all be just fine. Rocking diesel til the end!!!!!!!

That’s quite a lot of theology to avoid discussing operating costs. Mines and construction companies won’t switch because EVs are virtuous, they’ll switch wherever electric equipment becomes cheaper, more reliable and easier to maintain. Diesel loyalty won’t survive the spreadsheet.

Chris, I completely agree with this statement. You are saying market reality will choose which vehicle becomes the tool of choice for all heavy industries, right? As long as the green/climate change religion is not the driver! Religious zealots in green theology distort market forces with painful costly regs that skew decision making. I don’t want to breathe diesel exhaust, but love the powerful solution they bring to big challenges!!

Good luck to them. Hope they outperform the million dollar postal trucks.

The difference is these are working commercial vehicles bought by fleet operators who care about costs, not political vanity projects. If they don't perform, they won't be buying the next 42 already on order.

Like I said. I wish them good fortune. We will know the result in a few years.

Beautifull trucks

They certainly look purpose-built. More importantly, if they deliver lower running costs, higher uptime and make fleet operators more money, that's what will determine whether thousands more end up on the road. Looks are just a bonus.

Thats it.

China will kill the middle east economy in next 10 years.

Not kill it, but China’s electrification could seriously weaken the oil-dependent model. As EVs, electric trucks, rail and renewables scale, China’s oil demand growth fades and eventually reverses. Middle Eastern economies that diversify into manufacturing, renewables, logistics and finance will adapt. Those that keep betting everything on crude could be in real trouble.

Unfortunately most of Middle East still benefit from first or second order effect from oil economy. Some of them will struggle and some others will diversify. UAE could be a clear winner.

The real numbers that matter is total EV production of everything buses.. trucks.. cars.. boats.. If its a good EV it will get on the roads ....

Exactly. The transition isn't about one vehicle segment, it's about the entire transport system. Cars, buses, trucks, vans, forklifts, mining equipment, boats and eventually aircraft. If an EV delivers a lower total cost of ownership, it gets adopted. Markets don't care about ideology, they care about economics.

#Ethiopia and #Africa more advanced than UK @Catapult_UK and @innovateuk. Client politicians of the offshored that sell out UK, and their client institutes that fabricate policies and the client journalists that sell fake policies are to blame. Order all offshore to onshore.

i proposed this to @corkcitycouncil 10 yrs ago. They do bus to lifetime labs. all i got was no no no

Economics (of industrial revolutions) 101.

I tend to agree. Industrial revolutions aren't won by defending incumbent technologies, they're won by adopting the ones that improve productivity. Countries that recognise that early usually end up building the industries everyone else later tries to catch up with.

💯💯💯💯☝️

Europe has stopped electrification just to protect oil corporations.

Not really. Europe has slowed parts of the transition and softened some policies, but EV sales are still growing strongly, very strongly even. What's happened is more of a political hesitation than a complete reversal. The underlying economics of electrification haven't changed, and manufacturers continue investing because that's where the market is heading.

is er een elektriciteit net met voldoende capaciteit ?

Ja, mits je slim laadt. Een depot met tientallen elektrische vrachtwagens hoeft niet iedereen tegelijk op vol vermogen te laden. Slim laden, batterijopslag en gefaseerd opladen verlagen de piekbelasting enorm. Bovendien worden netten continu uitgebreid. Precies zoals ze destijds ook werden aangepast voor auto's, airco's en datacenters.

Deep electrification is energy security and then there is biosecurity. "Biosphere security is the idea that a healthy biosphere — the ecosystems, biodiversity, and life-support systems of Earth — is the foundation of human well-being, so protecting it is a security imperative, not just an environmental one. It connects directly to national security and global security because damage to food, water, health, supply chains, climate stability, and social order can translate into instability, conflict, and reduced resilience." Biosecurity is intrinsic to the global energy transition. This core idea is sometime missed people who have always lived in cities and have little understanding of the biosystems that support them.

Excellent initiative 👍

All that, plus as a cherry on top, they get destruction of western industry.

미국이 베네수엘라 같은 약소국들 석유를 약탈하는 동안, 중국은 후진국들을 발전시키면서 상생하고 후진국들을 서구의 노예상태에서 벗어나도록 도와주고 있습니다. 이것이 진정한 인류애입니다.

electric trucks didn't work in the 60s, they wont work now. weight to energy ratios are very very bad.

People said the same thing about electric passenger cars. Yes, batteries have lower raw energy density than diesel, but diesel engines waste roughly 70–80% of that energy as heat, while electric drivetrains typically deliver around 80–90% of battery energy to the wheels. The real-world gap is far smaller than the headline numbers suggest, and for more use cases, the economics already work.

China is saving the Planet But at what cost?

I wouldn't call those trucks "heavy duty".

This Is What Transition Looks Like~NOT Pledges But Fleets On The Ground.The Global South Builds While The Developed World Debates & Delays

Well battery could be ageing, it needs to be maintained.