Engineering News — December 08, 2017

RA ENGINEERING NEWS | December 8–14, 2017 13

E

nergy storage and automotive com­

ponents specialist Metair has launched

a programme to produce lithium­ion

(li ­ion) batteries across its operations in South

Africa, Turkey and Romania.

The programme will see Metair partner

with universities and industry agencies for the

production and certification of li­ion batteries.

Historically, Metair used available li­ion

solutions from upstream suppliers to deliver

customer­specific systems and solutions,

adding only its own system design and

controls.

This, however, is set to change.

In South Africa, Metair will partner with

the South African Institute for Advanced

Materials Chemistry (SAIAMC), located at

the University of the Western Cape (UWC),

which houses the only pilot­scale li­ion battery

cell assembly facility in Africa.

Metair’s agreement with UWC will see the

company invest R3­million over three years

to pilot a prototype lithium production pro­

ject from January to improve equipment and

to sponsor one local postdoctoral fellow to

be trained at Argonne National Laboratory,

in the US.

Production will focus on mining cap lamp

cells, 12 V li­ion automotive batteries, 48 V

li ­ion batteries for energy storage applications

and solar panel recharge technology.

“Energy storage is a major focus area for

many industries globally,” explains Metair

MD Theo Loock.

“South Africa was at the forefront of li­ion

battery technology and we believe that this

should remain the case as the global transition

towards electric vehicles and renewable

sources of energy drive the requirement for

increasingly sophisticated energy storage solu­

tions that rely on locally sourced raw materials

and production facilities to reduce costs.”

The local partnerships, such as the one with

UWC, will provide a platform for Metair to

validate its local solutions on a regular basis

as the global production of electric vehicles

accelerates.

Metair will, however, also continue to use

internationally recognised li­ion chemistry

solutions and apply specific designs and

controls for customers.

Manganese in Abundance

“In South Africa, we will invest and work

closely with UWC to deliver a locally validated

li ­ion solution for mining cap lamp applications

using the most efficient chemistry mix based

on widely available local minerals, such as

manganese, to support local beneficiation,”

says Loock.

“Our relationship will ensure that the

test ing and validation of the technology is

under t aken according to strict academically

driven standards, but [will] also support local

human capital development as more stu dents

become involved in this process – along­

side government and private companies –

looking to [promote] commercially viable

local production of li­ion solutions.”

South Africa is home to more than 80% of

the world’s manganese, which is one of the

main commodities required in the manu facture

of li­ion batteries, together with elements such

as iron, nickel and fluorspar.

Most electric vehicles today use li­ion bat­

tery packs, the same technology that powers

laptops,smartphones and tablets.

Metair believes that sustained research

and development initiatives to support local

produc tion using locally available commodities

will drive down costs. “Metair continues to

position itself to take advan tage of changing

technological trends, especially in our energy

storage vertical, where the market conditions

and dynamics are subject to technology shifts,

which include the mass intro duction of electric

vehicles,” notes Loock.

THE number of franchised systems (or

busi ness networks) within the automotive

aftermarket has grown from 60 in 2012, to 79

in 2017, shows the 2017 ‘Franchise Factor’

report. Thirty of the 79 systems tallied this

year are new franchised systems.

The automotive franchise aftermarket

has also seen the creation of 803 new

businesses and 5 573 new jobs over the

last five years.

The estimated turnover of the 79 fran­

chised systems in 2017 is R32-billion, indi­

cating the contribution these systems make

to South Africa’s gross domestic product,

says ‘Franchise Factor’ author and owner

Bendeta Gordon.

“In 2012, it was one-third of this figure.”

She adds that it is well acknowledged

that a sluggish economy, an uncertain job

market and retrenchments in big companies

AUTO INDUSTRY – 1

AUTO INDUSTRY – 2

Production Project Number of auto

aftermarket

franchises rising

Metair and partners to produce lithium­ion batteries

NEWS&INSIGHT

Pressure Gauges

Diaphragm Seals

Transmitters

Thermometers

Pressure Testing Kits

SANAS ISO 17025 Accredited

PRESSURE

GAUGE

National Sales: 0860 007 91 1

International Sales: +27 031 579 2216

[email protected] http://www.sagauge.com

Branches in Jo’burg & Durban

GAUGE

SA

MANUFACTURERS

The Gauge Guys

THEO LOOCK

In South Africa, Metair will work closely with

UWC to deliver a locally validated lithium-ion

solution

IRMA VENTER | CREAMER MEDIA SENIOR DEPUTY EDITOR

IRMA VENTER

CREAMER MEDIA SENIOR

DEPUTY EDITOR

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