The University of the West Indies (UWI) is positioning itself as a regional leader in the global transition to electric mobility, following the official opening of an e-mobility laboratory at its Mona campus in Jamaica on Tuesday.
The new facility is expected to support research, training, innovation and practical experimentation aimed at accelerating sustainable transportation across the Caribbean. UWI said the lab will focus on developing solutions that encourage the electrification of multiple forms of transportation throughout the region, while strengthening the technical capacity needed to support long-term adoption.
- Advertisement -
“This lab will help us, in addition to other partnerships that we have with other entities, it will help us to have that additional hands-on experience here within our departments, but not just for students in our departments, but those from our faculty and the wider campus,” said Dr Louis Harris, senior lecturer in the Department of Physics at UWI, Mona, as he outlined the scope of the facility.
Harris emphasized that the initiative goes beyond undergraduate learning, noting that UWI intends to build partnerships outside of the university environment so the lab can serve wider society. He said the facility could play a significant role in supporting Jamaica’s broader push toward carbon-free transport systems.
The e-mobility lab was created through a partnership involving UWI’s Department of Physics, the JPS Foundation, and Germany’s Federal Ministry for the Environment (BMUKN) through the International Climate Initiative (IKI). Funding support also came through the JPS Foundation’s collaboration with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Lab under the eDrive programme, which contributed US$75,000.
“With the UWI e-mobility lab, it is a natural extension of the vision behind project e-Drive, as it provides a dedicated space for experimentation, skill-building, and collaboration, creating a home for the next generation of engineers, innovators, and researchers who will shape Jamaica’s e-mobility transformation and beyond,” said Lisandra Rickards, senior private sector development consultant at IDB Lab.
Dean of the Faculty of Science and Technology at UWI, Mona, Professor Michael Taylor described the lab as an important step for the region’s low-carbon future.
“Though we’re opening a lab, it’s not an isolated event. It represents structured capacity-building across the entire regional science ecosystem, and that is what we need to support the transition to low-carbon and climate-resilient transport and energy systems in the Caribbean,” he said.
UWI Mona Principal and Pro-Vice-Chancellor Professor Denzil Williams said sustainable transportation is one of the most urgent issues of the century and universities must play a role in delivering solutions.
“One of the big challenges that we have in this very long 21st century is sustainable transportation and we think that, as a university, we must have answers to that part of the challenge as well,” Williams said.
He added that UWI’s collaboration with partners such as the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), Jamaica Public Service (JPS), and others will move beyond discussion into practical implementation.
“We are really grateful that, through the leadership of the Faculty of Science and Technology… we have partnered with GIZ, JPS, and others to not only think through, but implement solutions that can help drive sustainable transportation,” he said.
Germany’s Ambassador to Jamaica, Jan Hendrik van Thiel, said the project reflects the strength of Germany’s partnership with UWI and highlighted the importance of applied learning in technical development.
“This project is very close to our hearts… For us, it is very important to have cooperation in academia and professional training. UWI has become an important partner, which is a fantastic example of the e-mobility lab,” the ambassador said.
He stressed that hands-on learning, paired with theory, strengthens long-term understanding and produces stronger outcomes.
UWI noted that the lab forms part of broader regional work under the NDC-TEC programme, supporting the implementation of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) across Caribbean states and helping to shift the region’s transport and energy sectors toward a low-carbon and climate-resilient future.
The university signed a grant agreement with GIZ on July 15, 2023, enabling it to carry out programme activities, while the International Climate Initiative provided more than €1 million in funding through Germany’s climate-focused ministries working in cooperation with GIZ.
Since 2023, UWI has already advanced multiple initiatives under the programme, including developing two university-level courses, delivering an e-mobility curriculum for teacher training, and conducting introductory electric vehicle technology training across St Lucia, Belize, Jamaica and Suriname.
With the launch of the new laboratory, UWI officials believe the institution is now better equipped to support regional innovation, technical training and policy-linked research that can guide the Caribbean’s move toward clean and resilient transportation.
