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From left: Professor Thea van der Westhuizen (CLMS); Professor Vincent Nyamori (CAES); Professor Matthew Davies (Swansea University); and from CAES Ms Dipika Gobind; Ms Shruti Saroj and Professor Bice Martincigh.
UKZN SCIENTISTS INVOLVED
IN FUNDED RESEARCH INTO SOLAR MANUFACTURING OPPORTUNITIES IN AFRICA
Funding of close to R70 million has been awarded to a group of established scientists, including several from UKZN, to investigate potential manufacturing opportunities for perovskite solar modules in South Africa, Kenya, Rwanda and Nigeria.
The REACH-PSM - Resilient Renewable Energy Access Through Community-Driven Holistic Development in Perovskite Solar Module Manufacturing - project aims to drive sustainable energy solutions by promoting local solar manufacturing in low- and middle-income countries.
Swansea University in the United Kingdom initiated and led the funding through Professor Matthew Davies, the Principal Investigator for REACH-PSM and the UNESCO Chair in Sustainable Technologies. Davies is an honorary professor in the School of Chemistry and Physics at UKZN where Professor Vincent Nyamori, Professor Bice Martincigh, and Professor Thea van der Westhuizen are collaborators on the project.
The consortium held a TEA@SUNRISE symposium recently at Ballito hosted by UKZN under the theme: “Exploring the International Opportunities for Addressing Energy Access by Bringing Next Generation Solar Technologies to Market”.
The symposium and project are very relevant to Africa since the continent has one of the fastest-growing populations and highest workforce ages but lags in providing sustainable energy solutions to its population.
The project will focus on designing the manufacturing process for a circular economy.
Academic Leader-Research at UKZN’s School of Chemistry and Physics Professor Olatunde Olatunji, and Nyamori opened the symposium with Nyamori emphasising the need for meaningful and impactive collaborations within Africa and, in conjunction with developed nations, provide affordable, sustainable solar energy solutions, which are required on the continent.
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