12 ENGINEERING NEWS | December 8–14, 2017 AN
NEWS&INSIGHT
A
im-listed Bushveld Minerals’
84%-owned energy subsidiary,
Bushveld Energy, has deployed
its first utility- scale vanadium redox
flow battery (VRFB) for testing at power
utility Eskom.
The power utility will, at its research,
testing and development centre, in
Rosherville, test the VRFB and its
performance and applications under
numerous simulations to validate the
operational performance of energy
storage systems in local conditions
and demonstrate the abilities and maturity
of the VRFB for broad commercial use
in South Africa and across the African
continent.
The testing outcomes will include
minimum load shifting, wind genera tion
smoothing, solar generation smoothing,
power quality improvement and self-
black-start capability.This follows the completion of market
studies commissioned by Bushveld
Energy and the Industrial Development
Corporation (IDC) in the second half of
2016 to assess African VRFB demand and
opportunities, as well as global vanadium
electrolyte demand and requirements.
“As Eskom has identified significant
energy storage requirements within
the South African grid, this project
will ensure VRFBs... showcase
their superior technical and financial
value,” explained Bushveld Minerals
CEO Fortune Mojapelo.
The testing process will take 18
months, after which the system will be
redeployed to a commercial site within
South Africa, taking into consideration
the outcomes of the testwork results.
The VRFB commissioning, employing
an advanced VRFB with peak power
of 120 kW and peak energy storageof 450 kWh produced by UniEnergy
Technologies (UET), is expected to take
place in the first half of 2018.
Bushveld Energy and US-based
UET teamed up in April 2016, when
they signed a memorandum of under-
standing to develop market opportunities
for VRFBs and a strategy to identify and
develop immediate VRFB instal lation
opportunities in Africa, and create a
vanadium value chain in South Africa.
“We believe this first pilot
installation in partnership with Bushveld
Energy and Eskom will demonstrate
that energy storage solutions do offer
a financially attractive proposition
and create the opportunity for a new
local industry to be developed, through
which local mineral resources can be
beneficiated and jobs can be created,”
said IDC new industries strategic
business unit head Christo Fourie.
Co-developers Bushveld Energy
and the IDC, in addition to Eskom,
will ensure that independent power
producers, energy storage developers
and policy decision-makers, as well
as various capital providers, have
access to the battery for wider
familiarisation to realise large-scale
adoption of VRFBs.While the net satisfaction of
Consulting Engineers South Africa’s
(Cesa’s) member firms improved
significantly in 2017, they do not have
high hopes for 2018, owing to the current
political landscape, amid revelations of
State capture and corruption allegations
across key government entities.
“Our member firms mostly depend
on these key client bodies being
functional and in continuous pursuit
of competent and professional
consulting engineering services
for infrastructure development to
sustain their business operations
and maintain a steady workforce of
professional practitioners,” noted
Cesa CEO Chris Campbell in a
recent statement.
Still, the net satisfaction rate of
Cesa members increased by 8.
percentage points from 87.5% in thelast six months of 2016 to 96.3% in
the first six months of 2017, according
to the industry body’s biannual
economic and capa city survey for
January to June 2017.
“Expectations for the last six months
of 2017 are still relatively positive, but
levels of optimism are waning for next
year, particularly among larger and
medium-sized firms,” said Campbell.
He stated that, based on the outlook
for business conditions in the next
12 months, confidence levels among
larger firms fell to below 50% for this
time next year.
Medium-sized firms reported equally
satisfactory levels for the first six
months but also expect weaker
conditions for next year.
Small to microsized firms reported the
lowest confidence levels, with no real
change expected in the next 12 months.
Capacity use of technical staff
improved to an average of 85.1%, after
having slowed over the previous two
surveys to 82.5%.
“Just over a third of the firms expect
no change in use, while just over 2%
expect a slowdown,” said Campbell.
Larger firms reported the highest
capa city utilisation at 91%, while
medium-sized firms averaged a rateof 84.5%. Smaller firms reported the
lowest rates of 78.8%.
Larger firms were also the most
optimistic regarding the outlook for
use, as close to 70% expect an
improvement, while most small and
medium-sized firms expect rates to
either remain static or decline.
Fee earnings in the first six months
of 2017 increased by 5%, compared
with the last six months of 2016, which
was relatively unchanged, compared
with the same period in 2016.
The increase was better than the
expected 7% decrease, as reported
by firms in the previous survey when
predicting the outlook for the first six
months of 2017.
Larger firms reported an increase of
5%, while earnings for medium-sized
firms ended flat, and small and
microsized firms reported an increase
of 14%.
Fee income rose to an annualised
R26.6-billion at current prices as at
Ju n e 2 017.
“Earnings are expected to remain flat
in the second half of 2017, although
larger firms expect a marginal increase
of 1.3%. Medium-sized firms are less
optimistic, expecting a drop of 8%,”
said Campbell.VANADIUMENGINEERINGStorage Trials
Cesa members’
optimism for
2018 waning
First vanadium redox flow battery to be tested in SA
ANINE KILIAN
CREAMER MEDIA
CONTRIBUTING EDITOR ONLINENATASHA ODENDAAL | CREAMER MEDIA DEPUTY EDITOR ONLINE