Subaru UK team up with St Helena to help achieve zero-emission transport

Imagine charging your electric car on a tropical island 1,200 miles off the coast of Africa. Well, that’s exactly what’s happening on St Helena, a tiny British Overseas Territory best known as Napoleon’s last stop and home to Jonathan, the 192-year-old tortoise. The island is striving towards a future of sustainable power and zero emissions and Subaru UK has joined the mission to make it happen, helping trial the world’s most remote public EV charging point.

St Helena has ambitious plans to switch to sustainable power and zero-emission transport by 2030. To help kick things off, Subaru teamed up with Norwegian charger brand Easee and the St Helena Government to test if electric vehicles (EVs) can handle the island’s unique challenges.

A sleek and easy to use Easee Charge unit was installed next to the island’s Museum in the capital, Jamestown, and hooked up to the local grid by power provider Connect St Helena Ltd. A Subaru Solterra—Subaru’s first all-electric All-Wheel-Drive SUV—was shipped in from the UK to take on the island’s rugged roads and steep slopes.

Spoiler alert: it passed with flying colours. The Solterra tackled everything St Helena threw at it, from paved streets to dirt trails winding through volcanic crags. Even after a full day of driving—about 50 miles on this compact 10x5-mile island—the car still had 80% battery left. Talk about efficiency! Its regenerative braking tech even helped recharge the battery on those downhill stretches.

Lorraine Bishton, Managing Director of Subaru UK says “From Subaru’s perspective, it's an honour to be involved in a project that could potentially lead to a fully sustainable future for Saint Helena. It's a real testament to the Subaru's reliability and capability that we didn’t send a technician with the Solterra. Proving that  if you can operate an electric vehicle in this type of remote environment then you really can anywhere.”

This little island is already making strides towards sustainability. A mix of wind and solar power provides up to 25% of its energy needs, with plans to ramp that up to a minimum of 80% by 2028. The remaining power comes from a diesel power station that costs a hefty £5 million in imported fuel each year to run. Cutting down on that reliance makes perfect sense.

And it’s not just about the environment. EVs could be a game-changer for St Helena’s tight-knit community. Currently, the island has just a small handful of EVs and no supporting infrastructure. But thanks to this trial and Subaru’s Solterra, interest in Electric Vehicle adoption is picking up, with residents having already asked about the vehicle's availability with a view to purchasing it. What’s next?

The Easee charger is now a permanent fixture on St Helena and will remain to help support a small fleet of electric cars arriving in 2025 for both locals and tourists. The St Helena Government is also rolling out incentives to encourage residents to import EVs. “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 behaviour and start to use more electric vehicles.” says Mark Brooks, the island’s Minister for Treasury and Economic Development.

Adam Rodgers, Managing Director of Easee UK, summed it up perfectly: “I think this project really resonates with us for a couple of reasons. Firstly, we don't believe location should be a barrier to the EV transition at all. And secondly, the robustness, durability, and efficacy of our charger really is a powerful accolade of which we take pride, so that we know we can place it somewhere as remote as St Helena. I just know that it's going to work and that means the customer ultimately can rely on good, solid infrastructure that will not break down when they need it most.”

So, what do you think? Could St Helena become one of the world’s first zero-emission islands? The Solterra’s trial run makes it feel a little less like a dream and a lot more like a future reality.

Check out our full video for a closer look into the project: https://youtu.be/SxncYw-CKNw