Media Releases
Today, His Majesty the King of the Belgians and South Africa’s Director-General of the Department of Science and Innovation, Dr Phil Mjwara visited a new indoor energy storage testbed at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) that will become fully operational in May this year.
The new infrastructure and associated expertise will strengthen South Africa’s ability to support local players in the battery value chain, thereby boosting the country’s capabilities in renewable energy storage. The collaboration falls within the ambit of a collaboration agreement between the CSIR and VITO, the Flemish Institute for Technological Research.
The new MoU was signed on the sidelines of Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni's state visit to South Africa on 28 February. The visit was aimed at strengthening political and economic relations between the two countries.
President Cyril Ramaphosa hosted President Museveni at the Union Buildings in Pretoria, and the two countries concluded a number of MoUs on various matters.
The partnership agreement signed between the UIRI and the CSIR, an entity of the Department of Science and Innovation, builds on the 2011 partnership agreement entered into following a study that found the Ugandan tropical climate and fertile land favourable for essential oil crops.
CSIR senior researcher Dr Thomas Ryan-Keogh and CSIR research group leader for the Southern Ocean Carbon-Climate Observatory Dr Sandy Thomalla are co-lead authors of this high-impact research, which suggests that there may be a reduction in the supply of iron to the Southern Ocean’s surface sunlit waters.
Outlining the significance of the research, Ryan-Keogh says that the Southern Ocean is a globally important region that helps to mitigate the impacts of climate change by absorbing, mainly through physical processes, a significant proportion of the man-made carbon dioxide that is emitted through the burning of fossil fuels. “Almost half of all the anthropogenic carbon dioxide that dissolves in the ocean does so here,” he says.
In 2022, the total system demand was similar to 2021, but still 5.2 TWh (2.2%) less than the pre-lockdown levels of 2019. Coal still dominates the South African energy mix, providing 80% of the total system load. The contribution of renewable energy technologies (wind, solar PV and CSP) increased in 2022 to a total of 6.2 GW installed capacity and provided 7.3% of the total energy mix. It was the first year that solar (PV and CSP) generation output decreased.
The two organisations signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in Pretoria on Tuesday, 21 February 2023. This newly established partnership, which has been endorsed by CSIR Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Dr Thulani Dlamini and the Director and Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) of Digicall South Africa, Musa F. Sambo, will enable both entities to collaboratively explore customised, end-to-end technology solutions that will contribute towards establishing advanced business systems and value offerings for Digicall.
Top Employers Institute CEO, David Plink, says: “Exceptional times bring out the best in people and organisations, and we have witnessed this in our Top Employers Certification Programme this year – exceptional performance from the certified Top Employers 2023. These employers have always shown that they care about the development and wellbeing of their people. By doing so, they collectively enrich the world of work. We are proud to announce and celebrate this year’s group of leading people-oriented employers: the Top Employers 2023.”
CSIR furthers studies to ensure people are at the center of the transition to a low emission, climate resilient economy.
The Chemical Industries Education and Training Authority (CHIETA) and the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) are happy to announce that they have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that will facilitate the two entities’ collaboration on research, development and innovati
Impact Catalyst is pursuing a number of initiatives, including supporting the re-purposing of power generation infrastructure, sustainable mine closure and environmental management for agricultural development, as well as exploring re-industrialisation opportunities. Priorities will be related to manufacturing initiatives, while enhancing essential services, such as digitisation of schools, early childhood development centres, primary health care and basic ICT to communities. The first chapter of Impact Catalyst was launched in Limpopo Province followed by the Northern Cape.