Новости за 16.04.2024

Cape Town-based ‘techpreneur’ incubation hub The Creative Lab has announced that it would mark its first anniversary with the launch of a diverse array of cutting-edge products, developed by a number of South African innovators, using the hub’s facilities. The Creative Lab is an initiative of EvansWerks. “Opening The Creative Lab was a leap of faith for my family,” highlighted EvansWerks CEO and founder Justin Eugene Evans. “Today, we’re witnessing the dividends of that investment, proving the abundance of tech talent in South Africa. Читать дальше...

The University of Pretoria’s Faculty of Engineering, Built Environment and Information Technology has launched a new immersive technology lab at the Department of Information Science as a way of further integrating advanced immersive technologies into its curriculum and research initiatives. The immersive technology lab has its roots in the early integration of virtual reality (VR) technology within the department, dating back to 2013. The acquisition of early VR headsets allowed honours students... Читать дальше...

While the global economic slowdown in 2023 was less severe than expected, intergovernmental organisation United Nations Trade and Development (UNTD) has warned that a further deceleration in global economic growth can be expected this year. UNTD secretary-general Rebeca Grynspan has called for concerted multilateral action and a balanced policy mix to safeguard the global economy amid shifting trade patterns, soaring debt and mounting costs of climate change, particularly in developing countries.

The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) has belatedly moved to quell concern that its recent approval of a new loadshedding code of practice, which increases the number of potential stages from eight to 16, represented a signal that the prospect for higher levels of loadshedding was imminent. Following extensive public consultations undertaken by the National Rationalised Specifications (NRS) Association of South Africa, the third edition of the NRS048-9 standard was approved by the... Читать дальше...

JSE-listed Calgro M3 Holdings – an entity specialising in integrated residential developments and memorial parks – is expanding its Memorial Parks division with the acquisition of a new park in Rustenburg, in the North West. The park has burial rights in place and is the sixth memorial park to be owned and managed by the company, aligning with its strategy to make dignified burial facilities accessible nationwide.

The Research Institute for Innovation and Sustainability (RIIS) has been appointed as the interim host for the pan-African Digital Earth Africa Programme Management Office. Digital Earth Africa is used extensively by stakeholders throughout Africa as a free platform providing satellite imagery and products specific to the African continent. It is the world’s largest operator of open data cube (ODC) infrastructure.

Renewable woodfibre-based products company Sappi Southern Africa has achieved a GMP+ Feed Safety Assurance (FSA) 2020 certification for Pelletin, a lignin-based animal feed additive, making Sappi the second organisation in Africa to attain this certification. Lignin, a major component of wood and an abundant organic polymer, provides various functionalities especially in the industrial and agricultural sector. Sourced from the pulping process as a side stream, Sappi Southern Africa uses it to produce an additive in animal feed manufacturing.

Given the uncertainty surrounding the political landscape after the May elections, the Public Servants Association (PSA) has advised President Cyril Ramaphosa to delay the signing of the National Health Insurance (NHI) Bill. The NHI Bill was passed by the National Council of Provinces in late 2023, and sent to Ramaphosa to be signed into law.

Trade union Uasa has warned that if Gauteng's water disruptions are not addressed soon, the situation could end up as “a second Eskom”. South Africa was introduced to loadshedding in 2007, after State-owned utility Eskom announced it would implement rolling blackouts to avert the collapse of the national energy grid owing to insufficient generation capacity.

South African specialist microsatellite high-speed communication systems company Cubecom, part of the Alphawave Group, has announced that it has secured “substantial orders from multiple high-profile international space institutes” for its leading-edge High Data Rate Transmitters for microsatellites. It did not divulge the number nor the identity of its customers. “Securing these orders is not just a business milestone for Cubecom; it’s a validation of decades of hard work, innovation, and relentless pursuit of excellence by our team... Читать дальше...

Volkswagen Group Africa (VWA) will invest R4-billion in its manufacturing plant in Kariega, in the Eastern Cape. The investment will be used to prepare the plant for the addition of a third model to the company’s production line-up from early 2027.

The sale by Southern African diamond mining company Petra Diamonds of an exceptional blue diamond in its fifth tender cycle lifted the average prices per carat received 22% higher than those of the prior Tender 4 sale. The London Stock Exchange-listed company, headed by CEO Richard Duffy, reported on Tuesday that the price upliftment was the result of a remarkable14.76 ct exceptional clarity diamond, recovered from Cullinan diamond mine in Gauteng, fetching $8.2-million.

JSE-listed Afrimat expects to report a 21% to 26% year-on-year increase in headline earnings a share to between 553.6c and 576.5c for the financial year ended February 29. Earnings a share are also expected to be between 11% and 16% higher year-on-year at between 507.3c and 530.2c.

Technology company ABB has joined investors EDP, ESB, TotalEnergies, Act and DublinBIC in becoming an investor in energy management solutions company GridBeyond, which uses artificial intelligence (AI) and data science to enable customers to improve distributed energy resources and industrial loads. The investment was made through ABB’s Technology Ventures unit.

South Africa has fallen to sixty-ninth from sixty-fourth on the World Energy Council’s (WEC’s) latest World Energy Trilemma Index which ranks more than 100 countries against the three key dimensions of energy security, equity, and environmental sustainability. The index is included in the ‘World Energy Trilemma 2024’ report, released on April 16, and which is topped by Denmark and Sweden, with Niger and the Democratic Republic of Congo at the bottom of the standings.

The International Monetary Fund’s (IMF’s) Fiscal Transparency Evaluation Report has placed South Africa in the top three countries in terms of transparent fiscal practices, which National Treasury has welcomed. In July 2023, the IMF’s Fiscal Affairs Department (FAD) undertook a Fiscal Transparency Evaluation, at the request of National Treasury. Interviews were conducted with Treasury senior staff, government ministries, parliamentary committees, the Reserve Bank, civil society organisations, development partners, and Eskom.

The National Treasury has extended the deadline for submissions to the Budget Facility for Infrastructure (BFI) to May 17 to allow more time for project sponsors to package and submit their proposals. The department earlier published a call for proposals for consideration under the BFI.

New York- and Toronto-listed Platinum Group Metals, which is emerging in South Africa’s Waterberg, on Tuesday provided an update on its new light battery technology that points to increasing potential of palladium and platinum playing a key energy density and weight-lowering role in cumbersome battery electric vehicles (BEVs), where they currently play no part. Amid the market development of platinum group metals (PGMs) being collectively emphasised by South Africa’s PGMs mining industry in unprecedented fashion... Читать дальше...

The OPEC+ oil producers group, having lost Angola and other players in recent years, is eyeing Namibia for possible membership as it sets up what could be Africa’s fourth-largest output by the next decade, an African industry official and sources told Reuters. TotalEnergies and Shell in recent years have made discoveries estimated at 2.6 billion barrels, setting the stage for the southern African country to plan production from about 2030.

South Africa has taken a preliminary step toward filing a complaint with the World Trade Organization (WTO) against the European Union (EU) over its treatment of citrus imports from the country, people familiar with the situation said. Two years ago, the EU imposed requirements for additional refrigeration of incoming fruit from South Africa, which lags behind only Spain as an exporter of the produce, to combat incidences of Citrus Black Spot, a fungal disease that leaves dark spots on fruit, and false codling moth... Читать дальше...