While most people think of electric vehicles (EVs) as just transport, Zimi, a South African startup, wants to turn them into something more: mobile energy banks.
And now, with $320,000 (R6 million) in grant funding from the Energy and Environment Partnership (EEP Africa), the startup has the backing to prove it’s not just an idea.
The project isn’t about selling more chargers or fancy dashboards, but confronting one of South Africa’s most pressing headaches — load shedding — with a tool that’s been parked in our garages all along.
Zimi’s focus is vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology. In plain terms, it’s a system that lets EVs push electricity back into buildings or the national grid. You go out, you drive, you come back, you plug in — and instead of just topping up your battery, your car can give power back to your home or workplace. When the grid fails, you don’t have to sit in the dark.
“The grant aims to investigate and understand the limitations and challenges of Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) technology, develop real-world pilot applications to test V2G in practice, and ultimately create a commercial model that operates within existing grid constraints,” said Michael Maas, CEO of Zimi.
The EEP Africa grant didn’t come easy. Over 530 organisations submitted applications. Only 32 got the green light. Zimi was one of them. That’s no fluke.
Zimi already works closely with logistics firms — companies that own large vehicle fleets and lose money every time a truck sits idle. With V2G, that downtime becomes productive. An EV parked at a warehouse can now help power the lights and keep operations running during outages. It’s energy recycling, fleet-style.
“Perhaps the most important factor is a proven track record – something we have established through our work with major logistics providers such as Bakers Logistics,” Maas added.
The EV market in South Africa is still growing, but Zimi isn’t waiting for mass adoption. It’s betting on fleet operators to lead the transition. These are the early adopters who feel the pinch of diesel prices and operational delays more than anyone else. They also have the scale to test and refine new tech like V2G before it hits mainstream consumers.
Zimi’s solution is a complete system that helps businesses monitor their energy usage, manage payments, and even plug into solar power when available. Think of it as a full EV ecosystem, designed for the realities of South African power problems.
The timing couldn’t be better. Volvo recently launched the EX90 in South Africa, one of the country’s first EVs capable of bi-directional charging — a key requirement for V2G tech. Slowly but surely, the hardware is catching up with the vision.
At its core, Zimi is pushing for a mindset shift. The car in your driveway or at the company depot isn’t just for transport anymore. It’s a backup generator, a battery, and a power manager rolled into one.
For a country that still dreads the next stage of load shedding, it’s a breath of fresh thinking.
