Connor Lewis, a pupil from Curro Hermanus, has built an app that calculates the exact wattage of solar panels needed to charge an electric vehicle.

At EV Now's EVs on Display showcase in Hermanus, a glossy lineup that included a Tesla and a Powerade-blue electric G-Wagon drew plenty of stares. But the most impressive piece of engineering came from a 17-year-old who, in two hours, built an app that could help South Africans figure out exactly how to power their electric cars through solar energy.

The event itself was organised as an electric vehicle showcase - a chance for the public to touch, prod and test-drive without the usual sales patter. The most meaningful component was a competition launched among high school pupils four months earlier, aimed at myth-busting EVs and giving young brains the space to design something genuinely useful.

Seven of the eight high schools in the Overstrand area signed up, tackling categories such as essays, infographics and app building. In the end, one entry stood out: a working piece of software that could have easily come from a professional developer's desk.

The two hour build

Connor Lewis from Curro Hermanus took the crown with an app...