India continues with major nuclear energy development programme

India currently had ten nuclear reactors under construction and had authorised the construction of another ten. The country had also imported 7 546 t of natural uranium ore concentrate and 56.78 t... 

Agriculture continues to outperform nearly all other sectors of South Africa’s economy

Over the past two years the agriculture sector has been one of the few very stars in the firmament of the South African economy. In 2020 and 2021, agriculture was one of only four sectors of the... 

Re-establishment of SA’s air services councils welcomed

The announcement that the South African government had appointed new air services councils was welcomed by the local commercial aviation sector on Thursday. There were two such councils, the... 

Necsa extends deadline for research reactor RFI responses

The South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (Necsa) announced on Sunday that it was extending the deadline for responses to its Request for Information (RFI) regarding its Multi-Purpose Reactor... 

Space agency CEO has resigned

The South African National Space Agency (Sansa) announced on Monday that its CEO, Dr Val Munsami, had resigned. His resignation also took effect on Monday, although it was apparently submitted some... 

Technology development and transfer network for Africa proposed

To stimulate development and innovation across Africa, an ‘African Technology Development and Transfer Network’ should be created. This was the proposal of Economic Commission for Africa (ECA)... 

First Generation III+ nuclear reactors suffer further delays

US electricity utility Georgia Power has announced a further delay and a significant cost increase in its Vogtle nuclear power plant (NPP) expansion project. Vogtle (full name: Alvin W Vogtle... 

Kenyan operator becomes launch customer for new Airbus freighter aircraft conversion

Kenya-based specialist air cargo operator Astral Aviation will be the first carrier to operate the Airbus A320P2F freighter aircraft. The suffix P2F means ‘passenger to freighter’ and means that... 

First hybrid-powered general aircraft has been successfully flown

UK power and propulsion technologies group Rolls-Royce and Italian aircraft manufacturer Tecnam, in conjunction with Austrian leisure and sports craft propulsion systems company BRP-Rotax,... 

UK funding demonstrator for a new hydrogen storage technology, conceived in Australia

The UK government’s Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has awarded funding for a safe hydrogen storage and transport technology demonstrator. The technology was developed by an... 

Airline body’s latest survey shows sector’s recovery is continuing

The International Air Transport Association (Iata) has communicated that airline Chief Financial Officers and heads of cargo surveyed over the period December 2021 and January 2022 have reported... 

Necsa starts process to replace its Safari-1 reactor

On Sunday the South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (Necsa) released its Request for Information (RFI) for a new multipurpose (nuclear) research reactor (MPR). This is intended to replace the... 

Thulani Dlamini reappointed CSIR head

The current CEO of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Dr Thulani Dlamini, has been reappointed to the position, for a second five-year term. Dlamini started his first term... 

UK engineers develop new way to power micro-UAVs with flapping wings

Researchers in the Faculty of Engineering in the University of Bristol, in England, in the UK, have developed a new technology to propel micro-uncrewed air vehicles (UAVs) which, like birds and... 

French energy group joins UAE green hydrogen aviation fuel project

French global major energy group TotalEnergies has joined United Arab Emirates (UAE) sustainable and clean energy company Masdar and Germany’s Siemens Energy, in a project to use green hydrogen to... 

MeerKAT secures unprecedented image of Galactic core

South Africa’s already world-renowned MeerKAT radio telescope array, located in the Karoo region of the Northern Cape province, has again ‘delivered the goods’. An international team has released... 

Uganda Airlines boasts average aircraft age of only 1.95 years

International airline intelligence, data and news company ch-aviation has announced that Uganda Airlines has been identified as the operator of the youngest airliner fleet in the world, for the... 

World air speed records for Rolls-Royce-led electric aircraft officially confirmed

Renowned UK-based propulsion and technology systems group Rolls-Royce announced on Thursday that its ‘Spirit of Innovation’ technology demonstrator aircraft had been officially declared the world’s... 

South Africa has just deployed its first truly operational satellites

On Thursday, January 13, 2022, a Falcon 9 rocket, designed, developed, assembled and operated by renowned company SpaceX, founded and spearheaded by South African-born entrepreneur and engineer... 

A Pebble-bed modular nuclear reactor supplies grid electricity in China

Last month, a Pebble-Bed Modular Reactor (PBMR) nuclear power plant (NPP) was connected to an electricity grid and began to supply power to its region. This took place on December 20, at the... 

The EU includes nuclear in a draft amendment to its clean energy ‘taxonomy’

The European Commission, which is the executive branch of the European Union (EU), has included nuclear energy in its draft ‘Complementary Designated Act’ (CDA) of the EU ‘Taxonomy Regulation’... 

Ukraine announces plans to expand its uranium sector to boost energy self-sufficiency

The government of Ukraine has approved a plan to expand the country’s uranium production. “The main purpose of this concept is to create conditions for increasing uranium production to fully meet... 

Rolls-Royce-led team smashes world electrically powered aircraft speed records

UK-based global major industrial technology and propulsion systems group Rolls-Royce announced on Friday that the ‘Spirit of Innovation’ aeroplane had set new world records for an all-electric... 

Boeing, Kenya Airways partner in new innovation hub

US-based global major aerospace group Boeing and Kenyan national flag carrier Kenya Airways (which is a public private partnership) have entered into a partnership to develop the Fahari Innovation... 

Regional and smaller airliners market to be worth $650bn by 2040

Brazil-based major aerospace group Embraer published its 20-year Market Outlook, for regional and smaller airliners with up to 150 seats, at the Dubai Air Show on Monday. The Outlook covered both... 

Airbus Helicopters in maiden 100% SAF-powered flight

Airbus Helicopters has for the first time flown a helicopter using 100% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) to power one of its engines. The machine concerned was an Airbus H225, powered by two Safran... 

New UK joint venture to make ammonia credible as a zero-carbon aviation fuel

British air-breathing rocket propulsion technology company Reaction Engines, UK state research and development organisation, the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), and venture... 

Rolls-Royce and Qatar Foundation partner to drive development of green technologies

UK-based global major industrial technology group Rolls-Royce, and the Qatar State-led educational, scientific and community development agency, the Qatar Foundation, have signed a Memorandum of... 

Additive manufacturing in South Africa boosted by local technology developments

Although the Covid-19 pandemic has had a very real impact on the sector, both globally and locally, all signs are that additive manufacturing (AM) – popularly called 3D printing – is set to grow... 

Southern African airlines support action against climate change, but want key issues addressed

The Airlines Association of Southern Africa (AASA) supported positive actions to address climate change, AASA CEO Aaron Munetsi assured in his keynote address to the association’s virtual annual... 

Three African space agencies picked to place imager on International Space Station

A combined project of three African space agencies has been selected by the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) and Airbus Defence and Space as the winner of their joint... 

Africa will need more than 1 000 new airliners over next two decades – Boeing

US major airliner manufacturer Boeing has forecast that African airlines will need to acquire 1 030 new airliners, worth $160-billion, over the next 20 years. This prediction was contained in the... 

Sansa to host Digital Earth Africa office

The South African National Space Agency (Sansa) has been appointed as the Programme Management Office (PMO) for Digital Earth Africa. The latter entity has been established to make Earth... 

The world’s airlines commit to net-zero carbon emissions by 2050

At the 77th Annual General Meeting of their global representative body on Monday, the International Air Transport Association (Iata), the world’s airlines resolved that they would achieve net-zero... 

Necsa welcomes Nersa decision on new nuclear energy for South Africa

The South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (Necsa) on Wednesday announced its support of the recent National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) decision to approve the Section 34 (of the... 

UK first country to publish proposals for nuclear fusion power regulation

The UK government has released regulatory consultation proposals for the regulation of future nuclear fusion technology and power plant design, development, construction and operation. These were... 

Research group reports low level of market concentration in SA agriculture

In a recent brief report, the Bureau for Food and Agricultural Policy (BFAP) pointed out that, according to the available data, the agricultural sector was one of the South African economy’s least... 

Airbus-led consortium to pilot liquid hydrogen fuel at French airport

France’s Lyon-Saint Exupéry Airport will pilot a project, being developed by an Airbus-led consortium, to increase the use of hydrogen in aviation, both in aircraft and ground vehicles, the... 

Major international telescope being built in South Africa by local artisans

An international radio telescope array project, led by the US National Science Foundation, is being built in South Africa’s radio astronomy reserve in the Karoo region of the Northern Cape province... 

UK electric aircraft speed record attempt aircraft flies for the first time

UK-based global major industrial technology group Rolls-Royce has announced that its all-electric aircraft, ‘Spirit of Innovation’, made its maiden flight on Wednesday, at 14h56 British Summer...