Новости за 13.04.2021

Energy and Chemicals group Sasol made announcements on Tuesday that potentially open the way for the coal- and gas-heavy company to begin an energy transition designed to reposition it as a green hydrogen major and a leading global producer of carbon-neutral jet fuel. CEO Fleetwood Grobler announced that Sasol had decided to explore the creation, in partnership, of a sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production demonstration facility, based on green hydrogen, at its Secunda operations, in Mpumalanga.

While the delayed migration of analogue television and radio broadcasting signals to other spectrum bands is hampering the rollout of broadband telecommunications services, especially in rural areas, the licensing of the exclusive use of spectrum only by a single market player is preventing effective and efficient use of that high-demand spectrum to support modern telecommunications networks, public benefit organisation Free Market Foundation (FMF) information and communications technology specialist consultant Christoph Klein said on April 13.

Africa needs sustainable and inclusive manufacturing to bolster economic growth and create jobs and now is an opportune time for this to mitigate the impact of the pandemic and capitalise on opportunities afforded by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). This was indicated by speakers during a ‘Manufacturing in Africa for Africa’ roundtable, held on April 13.

Poultry producer Astral Foods has obtained a High Court order against government and the National Treasury over the nondelivery of basic water and electricity supply services within the Lekwa (Standerton) municipality. In terms of the Order issued on April 12, government will be required to intervene in the Lekwa municipality and, together with Treasury, wprepare a financial recovery plan, as contemplated in the Municipal Finance Management Act.

With South Africa’s citrus season looming and a global shortage of mobile refrigerated shipping containers (otherwise known as reefers), the Ngqura Container Terminal (NCT), in Port Elizabeth, is mobilising offloading equipment to assist in the offloading of reefers that have been diverted by shipping company the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC). NCT operator Transnet Port Terminals (TPT) has mobilised three ship-to-shore cranes, five rubber-tyred gantry cranes and three gangs to offload the... Читать дальше...

The Solar Impulse Foundation has officially reached the goal of assigning the Efficient Solutions Label to 1 000 profitable cleantech solutions from around the world and the list includes eight South African solutions, reports economically viable green economy solutions nonprofit organisation GreenCape. The Solar Impulse 1 000 Efficient Solution Label is designed to showcase existing solutions that are both clean and profitable and have a positive impact on quality of life.

A new mixed-used development Station House has been launched on Cape Town’s Atlantic Seaboard. Located at 19 Kloof road in the heart of Sea Point, one of the most desirable and growing areas of Cape Town, Station House is a 12-storey architectural building, which when completed, will feature 230 luxury apartments, ranging from studios to one-bed, two-bed and micro units. The development will also feature 15 facilities within one address, and will include a boutique hotel which will provide ...

Engineers at the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (Nasa’s) Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) have developed a software fix for a glitch that developed in the command system of the Ingenuity helicopter. The problem emerged during a pre-flight test sequence for the Martian aircraft which was undertaken on Friday. This was a high-speed spin test of its rotors, which ended early when a monitoring and safeguarding system called ‘watchdog timer’ detected a glitch and terminated the test. Читать дальше...

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The advantages of green hydrogen technology to meet South Africa’s goals of transitioning to a lower carbon energy sector appear “uncontested”, says law firm Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr (CDH). To qualify as a form of clean energy technology (one that does not contribute to greenhouse-gas emissions and climate change), the electricity used in the electrolysis process of making hydrogen must be derived from renewable energy technology – thereby creating so-called “green hydrogen”.

The first centre wing box (CWB) for the Airbus A321XLR has been delivered to Hamburg, Germany, from Nantes, France, where it was assembled. The A321XLR is the latest version of the A320neo (for new engine option) family, a new-generation development of the company’s A320 single-aisle airliner family. XLR stands for extra long range, and the A321XLR will be the world’s longest-ranged single-aisle airliner. The Airbus facility at Nantes specialises in the production of CWBs, which form the structural ‘heart’ of an airframe. Читать дальше...

Armoured product manufacturer SVI Engineering has extended the range of armoured bakkies available in South Africa to include the 190 kW V6 Amarok. SVI’s clients opted for the ultimate civilian level of armoured protection, namely B6, on the vehicle, able to stop bullets fired from assault rifles such as the AK47.

African infrastructure investor Harith General Partners has launched a $200-million capital raise in a follow-up fund to its Pan African Infrastructure Development Fund (PAIDF) 2, that is open to existing and new investors. The PAIDF 2 Infrastructure Top Up Fund is a shorter-term vehicle of between five and six years, that is being established to take advantage of near-term expansion opportunities in some of the best performing PAIDF 2 portfolio companies and realise a mature pipeline of high-quality infrastructure opportunities for investors.

Despite the devastating impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on South Africa’s economy, Trade, Industry and Competition Deputy Minister Nomalungelo Gina says the Special Economic Zones (SEZ) Programme continues to “successfully drive industrialisation” of the country. She explains that the programme has managed to attract a significant number of investors, thereby increasing the value of operational investments from R17.7-billion by the end of the third quarter of the 2019/20 financial year, to R19.5-billion... Читать дальше...

US aerospace giant Northrop Grumman has reported that its Mission Extension Vehicle-2 (MEV-2) spacecraft has successfully docked with the Intelsat 10-02 (IS-10-02) telecommunications satellite. MEV-2 will extend the life of IS-10-02, which was running out of fuel (having been launched in 2004) but was otherwise healthy. This is the second time a MEV has successfully docked with a satellite, to extend its life. MEV-1 docked with Intelsat 901 in February last year. However, the MEV-2/IS-10-02 docking... Читать дальше...

Isuzu Motors South Africa (IMSAf) has issued an enterprise development grant of close to R500 000 for the localisation of an extended reach aerial platform, also known as a cherry picker in South Africa. The SLT 180 telescopic aerial platform will be developed and manufactured locally by Isuzu business partner Smith Capital Equipment (SCE), and will reach heights of 16 m to 18 m, which previously could only be achieved with imported platforms.

Sasol and Air Liquide have formally announced plans to jointly procure 900 MW of renewable-energy capacity from independent power producers (IPPs) by 2030 and have issued a request for proposal (RFP) through which they aim to procure an initial 600 MW this year. The transaction, the companies said in a statement, represented the largest renewable-energy procurement deal from the private sector in South Africa and the renewable electricity generated by the IPPs would supply Sasol’s operations in Secunda, Mpumalanga.

Eskom has raised R76.1-million from the sale of two buildings as parts of a strategy to free up cash through the disposal on non-core assets, and more properties are expected to be sold. The buildings in Kimberley and Johannesburg were sold to the Department of Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation and will be converted into housing blocks, the power utility announced on Tuesday. Eskom, which is saddled with nearly half a trillion rand in debt, boasts an extensive portfolio of properties plans... Читать дальше...

Telecommunications group MTN has secured the title of the best mobile network in South Africa from the quarterly MyBroadband Insights report. The first quarter Mobile Network Quality Report showed that MTN achieved a network quality score of 9.73, followed by Vodacom with a score of 5.65, Telkom with 5.17, Cell C with 4.36 and Rain with 3.40.