One of the remotest inhabited islands on the planet is pushing ahead with plans to go all-electric following successful EV and charge point trials.

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The isolated British overseas territory of St Helena, located in the South Atlantic Ocean more than 1,000 miles off the west coast of Africa, is looking to switch almost entirely to sustainable power and zero-emission transport by the end of this decade.

The island, discovered by the Portuguese in 1502 and made famous as the final place of exile for Napoleon, has a population of around 5,000 people and was home to recent EV and charging trials.

Subaru and EV vehicle charger brand Easee collaborated with the St Helena Government to test the feasibility, reliability and adaptability of electric vehicle use on the tropical island.

The trial, lasting two months, featured an Easee Charge unit installed beside the island’s museum in the capital, Jamestown. It was connected to the St Helena grid by island power provider Connect St Helena, and was used to charge an all-electric Subaru Solterra, which was put through its paces across the rugged St Helena landscape.

The all-wheel-drive SUV was transported on the regular monthly supply ship to the island for the trial by Subaru UK and tested on sealed and dirt roads, in Jamestown and on the tight network of lanes across the volcanic isle’s craggy landscape.

The trials have shown the potential for the tiny 10-mile long and five-mile wide island to go electric.

The Government already incentivises the import of low-emission vehicles for residents and, with the move towards increasingly sustainable power generation, the potential is for this British overseas territory to become one of the first in the world to have a zero-emission automotive footprint.

St Helena has a wind farm and a solar array, providing up to 25% of the island’s power needs. The rest is generated by a diesel power station, using £5m of fuel shipped from South Africa each year. To address this, the St Helena government plans to have 80% of the island’s power generated by wind and solar by 2028.

The Subaru Solterra also proved hugely popular in the trials, with the test team receiving multiple offers from residents to purchase it.

“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,” says Adam Rodgers, managing director of Easee UK. “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.”

“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,” said Lorraine Bishton, managing director of Subaru UK.

She added: “To be honest, if you can operate an electric vehicle in this type of environment, then you really can anywhere.”

The Easee charging point will remain on St Helena as part of an expanding charging network being installed for a small fleet of electric cars being imported for tourist and islander use in 2025.

“The next step is to roll out the infrastructure so that we are using electric vehicles more and more on the island,” said Mark Brooks, St Helena Minister for Treasury and Economic Development. “There is a lot of diesel and petrol vehicles primarily and we want to change that behaviour and start to use more electric vehicles.”