Minister of Public Enterprises Lynne Brown paid a visit to CPUT yesterday to explore a number of research innovations and how they can address some of South Africa’s urgent needs.

The event was a prime opportunity for some of the university’s researchers to engage directly with Brown and her top officials from State Owned Enterprises (SOE) like Transnet and Eskom about the technologies being developed at CPUT. The mammoth four-hour engagement was facilitated by the Advancement Department and saw everything from bursary and training opportunities to some of the challenges faced when dealing with SOE’s unpacked and explored.

Brown and her delegation also got a hands-on understanding of the CPUT innovations at a mini showcase featuring the Agrifood Technology Station, French South African Institute of Technology Station in Clothing and Textiles and the Adaptronics Advanced Manufacturing Technology Laboratory. 

Acting Vice-Chancellor Dr Chris Nhlapo says CPUT was ready and willing to fill any gap that SOE’s had identified and was primed to take the country forward with Brown’s ministry.
“CPUT already has signed agreements with many SOE’s and the question we have here is how we continue to grow these partnerships,” he says.

Brown was candid about a number of pressing challenges hampering greater economic growth including renewable energy, port efficiency and less reliance on international companies to do work that locals could be trained for.
“If you don’t have skilled labour, you don’t have an economy that grows. That is when you see the easy option being taken, which is bringing in an international company to do the work,” she says.

Written by Lauren Kansley
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Liaises with the media and writes press releases about interesting developments at CPUT.

Eskom, the South African Renewable Energy Technology Centre (SARETEC) based at CPUT and the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP) have today signed a partnership agreement for the development of the Komati Training Facility.

This seeks to contribute to a ‘just’ transition for the local community as the Komati power station is decommissioned.

The facility will enable Eskom to reskill, retrain and upskill workers and communities, as appropriate. In addition to the training facility, which is part of Eskom’s Komati Repowering and Repurposing project, Komati will be repowered with 150 MW of solar, 70 MW of wind and 150 MW of batteries.

Eskom has also established a containerised micro-grid assembly factory at Komati. The Komati Repowering and Repurposing project is one of the largest coal-fired power plant decommissioning, repowering and repurposing projects globally and will provide a tangible case-study for the world on how to transition fossil-fuel assets.

“Eskom is pleased to be partnering with the CPUT, SARETEC and GEAPP on this ground-breaking initiative. The training facility complements Eskom’s JET plans to RE-ignite – in other words - not only repower and repurpose plant – but to re-train, re-skill and re-empower people to take advantage of the transition that is upon us. Mpumalanga is endowed with the best of resources for the just energy transition – wind, solar, skilled people, and available grid capacity and therefore has the potential to once again become the thriving energy hub of the country,” said Mandy Rambharos, the General Manager of the Just Energy Transition. 

The funding for the training facility will be provided by GEAPP. These funds will be used to establish the training facility and will enable SARETEC - the only fully accredited training centre for renewable energy in South Africa on Quality Council for Trades and Occupations (QCTO) - and Eskom to educate, reskill, and upskill Eskom Komati Power Station staff and qualifying beneficiaries from the surrounding communities in the Mpumalanga region. Upon completion, the training centre will be managed by Eskom’s Academy of Learning (EAL) who will be supported by SARETEC to achieve accreditation over time, enabling Eskom to replicate this initiative in other locations.

“South Africa can be a lighthouse for emerging markets, demonstrating the way to achieve a truly just, job creating energy transition,” said Joseph Nganga, Executive Director for Africa of the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP). “We are thrilled to be working together with Eskom and SARETEC on this new training facility, which will focus on the upskilling of workers, before decommissioning has even begun. This facility can inform reskilling programs at other power stations and catalyse investment in South Africa’s energy transition.”

The partnership agreement presents a unique opportunity for the creation and scaling up of new industries across the renewables value chain. Taking full advantage of these opportunities will require the retraining and upskilling for parts of South African workforce. This will mitigate the risk of job losses related to the decommissioning of coal-fired power stations and create new job opportunities, particularly for unemployed young people.

The Komati Training Facility will serve as a blueprint for how these training requirements can be fulfilled.

Vice-Chancellor, Prof Chris Nhlapo, thanked Eskom and GEAPP for their confidence in the university and assured them that the project had found the perfect home at SARETEC.

“SARETEC is very different to other energy centres around the world, and I know that we have the requisite skills to fulfil a nationally imperative project like this. We will succeed because this model must be replicated across South Africa. The pursuit of an energy mix that is cleaner and greener is the only way we will address electricity challenges in this country. We are also grateful to be part of a solution that provides the Komati community with economic opportunities into the future. By assisting Eskom to set up and accredit its own training facility, SARETEC is fulfilling its mandate of supporting the socio-economic needs of the country, continent, and world.”

Written by CPUT News
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In a ground-breaking moment, the South African Renewable Energy Technology Centre (SARETEC) and Eskom have signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) to formalise the collaboration to establish a renewable energy training centre at Komati Power Station, to support the implementation of the Eskom Just Energy Transition (JET) Strategy.

In his opening address, Dr David Phaho, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research, Technology, Innovation and Partnerships, said Eskom and SARETEC were to sign a Memorandum of Agreement to formalise the collaboration to establish a renewable energy training centre at Komati Power Station, in support of the implementation of the Eskom Just Energy Transition.

Phaho said the importance of this MoA for South Africa cannot be over-emphasised. “Underpinning South Africa’s inevitable leapfrog to a reduced carbon energy future will be strategies to develop not only the necessary skills to support our renewable energy agenda but also provide alternative employment to South Africans who are involved in the coal industry value chain which has been the bedrock of our economy since the dawn of the industrial age.

In a joint statement, the two parties indicated that Eskom has developed a comprehensive JET strategy, which places equal importance on the ‘transition to lower carbon technologies,’ and the ability to do so in a manner that is ‘just’. In support of this strategy, Eskom has a pipeline of clean energy projects at various stages of development and recognises that there is a dire lack of skills along the value chain.

Speaking at the event, Eskom Chief Executive Officer, André De Ruyter, said the purpose of this venture was to educate, reskill and upskill Eskom’s Komati Power Station staff and qualifying beneficiaries from the surrounding communities in the Mpumalanga region. “It’s all about empowering the community,” said De Ruyter.

This is in line with Eskom’s Just Energy Transition drive and SARETEC’s vision to ensure a pipeline of local skills responding to economic needs and readiness for the inevitable transition.

He said the repurposing of power stations like Komati Power Station was not about ‘destroying jobs but to create jobs”. De Ruyter said that when they scouted for a suitable facility to handle the training, there was really only one option, and that was CPUT.

“We estimate that 300 000 jobs could be created thanks to the transition to renewable energy but of course these are skilled jobs and so that is why it is so important that we engage with a reputable education institution like CPUT to ensure that we can reskill these people who are currently working in the coal value chain to work in renewable energy,” he says.

Vice-Chancellor, Prof Chris Nhlapo, said the collaboration represents taking the partnership between Eskom and CPUT to a different historic level: (buttressing Focus Area 6): Smart Engagement and strong links with quintuple helix partners. “It represents the formalisation in the form of the MoU which makes explicit reference to roles and responsibilities of each party. It represents contribution to addressing the energy imbroglio in our country – putting to bed hesitancy around renewable energy.”

Nhlapo added: “We are excited about being part of the repurposing of the power stations in ways that support low-carbon footprint, enterprise development and sustainable job creation.

“What is even more exciting is the fact [that] the primary objective is to upskill and reskill the Eskom staff and the surrounding communities on renewable energy skills which among others include battery energy storage, microgrid utilities and a myriad of soft skills.” Nhlapo said that the current electricity challenges in the country are for all of us to provide solutions as they are not only of Eskom’s making.

Nhlapo added that the Institution is looking forward to the signing of the funding agreement to follow at Komati Power Station on 23 September 2022.

Written by Aphiwe Boyce
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Vice-Chancellor, Prof Chris Nhlapo, recently delivered his state of the university address to hundreds of staff members at the Bellville Sports Fields.

Nhlapo welcomed the staff members, who were dressed in blue and white, and travelled from the various campuses to attend the event and said that while the institution had had its teething problems, CPUT was now a young adult at the precipice of great opportunity.

The Vice-Chancellor highlighted some of the progress made in 2022 and how it aligns to the institution’s Vision 2030 aspirations.

These successes included:

CPUT played a pivotal role in launching Africa’s first constellation of satellites. These satellites ensure that South Africa’s marine and coastal resources are secured and puts CPUT at the forefront of Africa’s space ambitions.

CPUT has partnered with Eskom to play its part in solving the country’s crippling energy crisis. Our South African Renewable Energy Technology Centre is working with Eskom to reskill its workers from decommissioned power stations to be retrained in critical renewable energy sectors.

CPUT was the first institution, through our Faculty of Education, to develop the Diploma in Early Childhood Care and Education which is scheduled for application in the year 2024.

The institution has also rolled out a suite of new qualifications, like the Postgraduate Diploma in Mathematical Sciences, which has a strong foundation in Data Science.

Nhlapo said CPUT is the university of choice for the people of South Africa, The university has space for 18 500 students in campus accommodation with a plethora of alternatives like accredited and unaccredited options.

“No other university can boast housing 43% of its student body in residence the way we can. And while it may not be perfect, I believe our student-centric approach to housing has been a game changer. Today I commend the staff members who are at the coalface of this challenge, the ones who work late into the night and through weekends to vet and place these walk-ins. We see your hard work and we appreciate it.”

He added that CPUT received over 450 000 applications for study in 2023.

“My reflections on 2022 were done so that we can see the value of planning appropriately and sowing seeds today, that can reap benefits later. It is said that effective people do not start with their tasks, they start with their time available, and plan accordingly.

There is always a choice on how to best to use our limited time, I hope I have sparked an idea in you on what your future self can look like when we meet here again in 2024.”

Written by Ilse Fredericks
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CPUT in collaboration with Eskom recently hosted the first regional Peaking Technologies Seminar to be conducted in the Western Cape.

The two-day seminar, which was held at the Bellville Campus, provided opportunities for the registered professional engineers and technicians to share their knowledge, work experience and provided solutions to the engineering problems encountered at ESKOM peaking generation stations across the country. Technical experts from ESKOM industries, academics, and postgraduate students from CPUT and the University of Cape Town (UCT) in the fields of Electrical, Mechanical, Civil, and Information Technology made their technical presentations. The Seminar was registered with the Engineering Council of South Africa for Continuing Professional Development points.

Prof Senthil Krishnamurthy from the Department of Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineering (DEECE) was “well impressed” with the first regional Peaking Technologies Seminar. The technical presentations covered insight into available energy factors by the ESKOM peaking generation stations and how they addressed the planned and unplanned breakdowns and maintenance at the ESKOM peaking power generation stations.

“Simply more available energy factor means no load-shedding and vice-versa less reduced available energy factor leads to unplanned breakdown/maintenance, which the network operator needs to plan the load-shedding stages in South Africa," said Krishnamurthy.

Krishnamurthy who co-hosted the event with Prof Veruscha Fester: Assistant Dean: Research, Technology, Innovation and Partnerships, said the seminar was the perfect opportunity to understand the industrial problems at peaking generating stations and engage with the industry to provide solutions through post-graduates and contract research projects. “It is a platform for networking and collaboration among utility professionals and academics. Our CPUT students had an opportunity to engage with the ESKOM team through this seminar.”

DEECE also arranged a research laboratory tour to showcase the research work at the Centre for Substation, Automation, and Energy Management Systems and the Centre for Power Electronics and Distributed Systems. About 100 Eskom professionals participated in the lab tour and were impressed with the state-of-the-art research laboratory infrastructure and the available modern tools and technology, that CPUT uses to train students with scarce skills for the next-generation workforce.

Krishnamurthy added that CPUT works closely with industries and prepares the next-generation workforce (technologies) through a modern equipped curriculum and state-of-the-art laboratory infrastructure, which provides an opportunity for students to be equipped with knowledge on the latest engineering configuration tools through the aid of modern technology and tools that are used to train students in the research laboratories.

Written by Aphiwe Boyce

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