UK-based e-mobility start-up OX Delivers has received a £1.2 million funding grant from UK government-funded body Energy Catalyst.

This will support its next-generation all-electric OX4 truck for production, and the development of a sustainable energy infrastructure in Rwanda.

OX provides affordable transport-as-a-service in Rwanda.

The company says it wants to expand its rollout across the Global South, starting on the African continent.

Simon Davis, Founder and CEO of OX Delivers commented: “We will leverage this grant to demonstrate the benefits of a low-carbon energy 'charge-point' infrastructure and provide rural communities with affordable transport. This will support the electrification of two of our current depots to create flagship projects which will further strengthen the OX Delivers business case.”

Currently the start-up supports over 4,000 customers, including smallholder farmers and traders, with 80% of orders coming from repeat customers.

The start-up says it will start building the OX4 truck in March this year.

The first OX truck was designed in 2016 and claims to be the world’s first flat-pack truck and the first vehicle designed specifically for Africa in forty years.

Plans for the OX4 truck will be finalised at the firm’s global headquarters in Leamington Spa, UK. The build process of the first examples will commence in March, prior to delivery in knock-down kit format for assembly in local markets.

Energy Catalyst, an Innovate UK programme, funds innovation required to create jobs, spur economic growth, and drive an inclusive clean energy transition across Africa, Asia, and Indo-Pacific communities.