Belize Shifts Into High Gear with Regions First High-end EV Lab

Belize is getting ready for a future where mechanics will need more than wrenches and engine oil. As electric vehicles begin showing up on local roads, the country is now investing in the people who will keep them running. Today, that effort shifted into high gear with the opening of Belize’s first Electric Vehicle Laboratory at ITVET in Orange Walk. Funded by the European Union and implemented by the UNDP, the new facility will train local technicians in EV diagnostics, maintenance, and repair, making it the country’s main hub for electric vehicle education. News Five’s Britney Gordon was at the launch, where she got a closer look at the equipment, the training, and the team preparing Belize’s workforce for the road ahead.

 

Britney Gordon, Reporting

“Believe it or not, this is a car, or at least it used to be. Now it’s being referred to as an operable electric vehicle machine test bed, but it maintains all of the primary functions of an electric vehicle. And anyone that wants to learn how to service them can come here to the Belize Electric Vehicle Laboratory in Orange Walk to gain all of that practical knowledge.”

 

Michael Lund, Deputy Resident Rep., UNDP

“So this is part of one big pilot project that we have implemented with the funding from the European Union. So this project has delivered the city buses in Belize City, the inter-district buses, some of the charging stations, some of the legislation that we have looked at, and now of course the training, in how we can maintain all of these electric vehicles.”

 

Until now, Caribbean Motors handled most of Belize’s electric vehicle servicing. But the new EV lab changes that, opening the door for more Belizeans to train in this growing field. Belize City Council E-Transit Coordinator Neil Hall says the timing is critical, as the country looks to add more electric vehicles following the success of its e-mobility pilot project.

 

Neil Hall, E-Transit Coordinator, Belize City Council

“This is two-fold. One, for the council, we actually have an EV fleet. We have electric vehicles in our municipal fleet. And having this training will only greater empower our electricians, our technicians, our mechanics to upgrade their skills and to be better able to service those vehicles in that fleet. Second, we look forward to Belize being a cleaner city and Belize the country being a better country by us having more EVs, which this is a push towards because the biggest concern of people who are, who, who are told, “Buy an EV,” they’re like, “Oh, but if something goes wrong, who gonna fix it?” And this completely negates that.”

 

Technicians say the lab is packed with ninety-five thousand U.S. dollars in equipment, making it the most advanced EV training facility in the region. Following a two-day training session, fifteen Belizeans are now equipped with the skills needed to service the vehicles. Technical Training Specialist Arnaud Delvaux is one of sixteen trainers who assisted in the process.

 

Arnaud Delvaux, Technical Training Specialist

“You actually have the most advanced state-of-the-art EV training system in the whole of Central America and the Caribbean right here. So you have to have some basic understanding of how an electric vehicle actually works. So the perfect example is actually here on my left. So this is a simulator for the electric vehicle. So this is kind of a transition between the traditional automotive equipment to the EV range.”

 

Britney Gordon

“And it’s not just the vehicles that Belizeans are learning to maintain. The charging stations are just as important. And here, with the electric vehicle charging station trainer, Belizeans are gaining that practical knowledge as well.”

 

UNDP Deputy Resident Representative Michael Lund says the opening of the EV laboratory brings the e-mobility project into its final stretch. The lab is the last major piece of the puzzle, giving Belize the tools and training space it needs to support a cleaner, electric future.

 

Michael Lund

“We have achieved the goals of a pilot project. We have introduced five buses. We have introduced charging stations. We have looked at legislation. We have done training. We’ve introduced the app, the mobile app, the 511 mobile app. We have introduced the payment system, the digital wallet, and now the maintenance and the training of it. So as the pilot project winds down, we are hoping that we have set the foundation so other partners, uh, other elements of the government can help really push this forward.”

 

Now that the laboratory is open, ITVET will be incorporating EV maintenance into the school’s curriculum and encourages Belizeans to enroll for the classes starting in September. Britney Gordon for News Five.

 

Attention readers: This online newscast is a direct transcript of our evening television broadcast. When speakers use Kriol, we have carefully rendered their words using a standard spelling system.

 

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