Home-grown science to resuscitate the economy

Stagnant economic growth and persistently high unemployment in South Africa are an uncomfortable reminder that it cannot be "business as usual" in approaching economic development.

Government has already introduced the National Development Plan (NDP), which aims to radically transform the economy by putting the country on a new growth trajectory. To realise the goals of the NDP, the Nine-Point Plan, which sets out immediate actions/priorities for growing and transforming the economy, has been introduced. One of the initiatives that could facilitate diversification of the economy from resource based is the initiatives that support beneficiation as identified in the Nine-Point Plan.

A radically transformed economy encompasses new knowledge, new industries and an army of knowledge workers. Although this may sound like a cliché in the Department of Science and Technology (DST), our Vision of "Increased well-being and prosperity through science, technology and innovation",is becoming a reality.

With declining commodity prices and the dwindling demand for natural resources, the DST's work is focused on shaping a knowledge economy. The DST has identified R&D driven new industries which, although not necessarily new internationally, are nevertheless new in South Africa.

South Africa needs increased value-addition and diversification to achieve the new growth trajectory. As a Department, we have flagged areas where South Africa can take advantage of what it has and combine it with knowledge in order to diversify its industries. The Fluorochemical Expansion Initiative(FEI) is one of the new industry projects that government (the DST and the Department of Trade and Industry) is driving. The aim of the FEI initiative is to expand the country's fluorochemical industry through increased local beneficiation of the country's reserves.

South Africa has the world's largest reserves of fluorspar, with estimated reserves of 41 million tons. The country currently supplies around 10% of the fluoride requirements to the US$16 billion per annum global fluorochemicals industry, but earns less than 0,5% of the revenue owing to the low levels of local beneficiation. The FEI Research and Development (R&D) Programme is attempting to address this.

About ten years ago the DST invested to develop R&D competence in this activity, working with Pelchem SOC Ltd, a subsidiary of Necsa, by providing R&D funding and infrastructure. A multipurpose fluorination pilot plant was established in 2010.

Two South African research chairs in fluorine chemistry and chemical engineering were also established in order to build the country's research capacity in this area. One is located at the University of KwaZulu-Natal and the other at the University of Pretoria. The research chairs also ensure that there is a pipeline of knowledge workers for this industry.

Over the last seven years we have strengthened our R&D competencies and we are now at a stage where we are looking for partners to ensure that the investment in research and technology development is translated into industrial activity. Already there is a partnership between the DST, the Department of Trade and Industry, the Industrial Development Corporation and Pelchem SOC Ltd.

While the DST does not directly participate in industrialisation activities, we strongly support these initiatives to help ensure that the investment in R&D results in industrial development.

The FEI R&D Programme seeks to attract investment from multinational corporations in order to build a larger hydrogen fluoride plant to increase output. A German company has already expressed interest and plans are underway to visit the company.

Successful technology development would see Pelchem's turnover increase from the current R200 million per annum to almost R400 million per annum in 2019, and R1 billion by 2025.

Another new home-grown industry the DST is enthusiastic about is the Hydrogen Fuel Cell Technology (HFCT) Programme, which is already yielding exciting results with the launch of prototypes using HFCT in sectors like mining.

Government embarked on the programme in 2008 with the launch of Hydrogen South Africa (HySA). The vision of was to add value to our Platinum Group Metals. At the time we realised that Hydrogen Fuel Cell Technology is an industry that is nascent and that, globally, people are trying to grow knowledge in this field. In addition, it is also a source of alternative energy.

Three centres of competence (CoCs) were established through the Cabinet-approved HySA Strategy. The CoCs drive R&D work in HFCT technology. The first CoC was established at the University of Cape Town and Mintek to do research in catalysis, another was established at the University of the Western Cape, focusing on Hydrogen and Fuel Cell system integration and technology validation, and the third is a joint CoC hosted by the CSIR and North-West University, focusing on infrastructure for hydrogen production, distribution and storage.

This was a three-phase programme, starting in 2008 and, like the FEI programme, the first phase started from scratch by establishing R&D capabilities. The DST provided the infrastructure, which included supporting postgraduate students to do the research.

The second phase, which runs from 2014-2019, focuses on technology demonstration and testing, as well as delivering products to the market. Creating jobs and establishing spin-off companies is another by-product of phase two. Already results from this phase can be seen in the mining industry. Two weeks ago, Minister Naledi Pandor unveiled a HFCT-powered forklift and refuelling station for local industry. These technology demonstrators were launched by the DST, together with Impala Platinum in Springs and HySA Systems, based at the University of the Western Cape. Impala will use the locally developed HFCT components for all their underground utility vehicles.

The fuel cell powered forklift and the 200 bar refuelling station (comprising a compressor with a metal hydride extension tank developed by HySA Systems) has been in operation at the Impala Platinum Refinery since October 2015. The project is an exciting one that showcases HFCT in an industrial application. The metal hydride compressor and direct hydrogen feed make this a very unique system, which could be replicated in other materials-handling industries.

The above-mentioned   developments are exciting and bode well for the future, particularly since the third phase will focus on sales, the number of jobs created, export revenue and the market share created.

According to the Annual Fuel Cell Review 2015, the total revenue of companies operating in the HFCT sector was just short of US$200 million in 2013, which corresponded to global fuel cell shipments of 67 200 fuel cell systems. As far back as 2014, global fuel cell shipments grew to 104 900, which was projected to grow to 158 600 in 2015. Research also shows that the platinum-based catalyst market is expected to be worth $555 million by 2020. Capturing 25% of this market would result in revenue of $139 million for the country.

Initiatives like the FEI and HFCT focus on beneficiating key South African minerals for socio-economic impact. A similar initiative with potentially significant economic impact is the Titanium Metal Powder Project; like the FEI and HFCT programmes, it is also included under the beneficiation initiative of government's Nine-Point Plan.

The DST's support of the Titanium Metal Powder Project, which is a flagship project under the Titanium Centre of Competence, is very important for the country, as breakthroughs in this area would complete a local beneficiation value chain of a globally strategic metal. The ability to produce titanium powder directly is considered to be a radical innovation and the process that is being developed will be a world first.

Titanium powder is widely used in industries such as aerospace, medical applications, transport and chemical processing to create high-performance, lightweight parts. However, the titanium powder has become even more important because of its use in 3D printing, which is establishing itself as an alternative mode of manufacturing.

This project is technically very challenging and has resulted in the creation of substantial new knowledge such as patents, PhD qualifications, technology demonstrators and pilot plants. The DST is funding the CSIR on this project and the main aim of the titanium powder initiative is to demonstrate and pilot a novel and more cost-effective process for the direct production of primary titanium powder, with a particle morphology and size suitable for compaction into either semi-finished articles or near-net-shape components via 3D printing. In addition, it is intended to be a continuous process, in contrast to the current batch-operated processes used elsewhere in the world.

A laboratory-scale pilot plant was launched in 2013 and test campaigns commenced in the following year. Due to new process requirements, the reactors are currently being upgraded and it is expected that the test campaigns will commence again by December 2016. Following the successful laboratory scale testing and validation, an industrial pilot plant is envisaged by 2019, followed by a full commercial plant in 2023.

Like the FEI and HFCT initiatives, significant resources have gone into developing new technologies (and the associated knowledge workers) who will contribute to the development of new cutting-edge, globally competitive industry sectors. The project – while extremely challenging – is potentially a world-first and should continue to be supported.

Revenue of approximately $400 million per annum is expected from the titanium powder production once the commercial plant is operational in ~2023. Revenue could increase to almost $100 million per annum once a downstream titanium industry has been developed.

These kinds of locally grown new industries hold the potential to create jobs by producing thousands of knowledge workers with postgraduate qualifications; this would have a socio-economic impact and start to transform South Africa from a resource economy into a knowledge economy.