The State of Energy Research in South Africa August 2014
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
The State of Energy Research in South Africa August 2014 ACASSAADEMY OF SCIENCE OF SOUTH AFRICA © Academy of Science of South Africa ISBN: 978-0-9922286-1-3 August 2014 Published by: Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf) PO Box 72135, Lynnwood Ridge, Pretoria, South Africa, 0040 Tel: +27 12 349 6600 • Fax: +27 86 576 9520 E-mail: [email protected] Reproduction is permitted, provided the source and publisher are appropriately acknowledged. The Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf) was inaugurated in May 1996. It was formed in response to the need for an Academy of Science consonant with the dawn of democracy in South Africa: activist in its mission of using science for the benefit of society, with a mandate encompassing all fields of scientific enquiry in a seamless way, and including in its ranks the full diversity of South Africa’s distinguished scientists. The Parliament of South Africa passed the Academy of Science of South Africa Act (Act 67 of 2001), as amended, and the Act came into force on 15 May 2002. This has made ASSAf the official Academy of Science of South Africa, recognised by government and representing South Africa in the international community of science academies. The State of Energy Research in South Africa August 2014 Contents List of Figures ......................................................................................... 3 List of Tables .......................................................................................... 5 List of Acronyms ..................................................................................... 7 Prefixes, Units and Gases ....................................................................... 9 Foreword ............................................................................................... 10 Acknowledgements ................................................................................ 11 Executive Summary ................................................................................ 12 1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................. 17 1.1 Background ......................................................................................... 18 1.2 Objective of Study ................................................................................ 19 1.3 Strategic Position of the Academy ........................................................... 19 1.4 Study Methodology ............................................................................... 19 1.5 Scope of Project .................................................................................... 20 2 THE SOUTH AFRICAN ENERGY RESEARCH LANDSCAPE................... 21 2.1 The History of Research and Development in South Africa ........................ 23 2.2 DST 10-Year Innovation Plan ................................................................. 24 2.3 Integrated Resource Plan ....................................................................... 26 2.4 National Development Plan and Energy .................................................. 27 2.5 National Energy Act .............................................................................. 30 2.6 The National System of Innovation ......................................................... 31 2.7 Energy and Energy-related Research Expenditure ..................................... 34 3 DESKTOP STUDY ............................................................................ 39 3.1 Introduction .......................................................................................... 40 3.2 Towards a Diversified Energy Landscape ................................................. 43 3.3 Renewable Energy (Non-bio) in South Africa............................................ 43 3.4 Bio-energy in South Africa ..................................................................... 50 3.5 Nuclear Energy in South Africa ............................................................... 58 3.6 Fossil Fuel Energy in South Africa ........................................................... 64 3.7 Energy Efficiency and Storage in South Africa .......................................... 71 1 The State of Energy Research in South Africa August 2014 4 BIBLIOMETRIC STUDY ..................................................................... 77 4.1 Introduction .......................................................................................... 78 4.2 Methodology ........................................................................................ 79 4.3 Results ................................................................................................. 80 4.4 Concluding Remarks ............................................................................. 96 5 MASTERS AND DOCTORAL DEGREES OUTPUT ................................ 99 5.1 Introduction .......................................................................................... 100 5.2 Methodology ........................................................................................ 101 5.3 Results ................................................................................................. 101 5.4 Findings ............................................................................................... 107 6 INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY SCAN ..................................................... 109 6.1 Rationale ............................................................................................. 110 6.2 Scope .................................................................................................. 110 6.3 Search Methodology ............................................................................. 111 6.4 Analysis ............................................................................................... 112 6.5 Results ................................................................................................. 113 6.6 Concluding Remarks ............................................................................. 119 7 CONCLUSION ................................................................................ 121 7.1 Findings ............................................................................................... 122 7.2 Recommendations ................................................................................ 132 References ............................................................................................. 136 Appendix 1: Biographies of Panel Members ........................................... 138 Appendix 2: Questionnaire Used for Desktop Study ............................... 140 Appendix 3: Questionnaire Statistics .................................................... 148 Appendix 4: Masters and Doctoral Degrees in Energy and Energy-related Themes, 2006–2013 .................................. 151 Appendix 5: Biographies of Researchers in Energy and Energy-related Research .................................................... 161 The State of Energy Research in South Africa August 2014 2 List of Figures Figure 2.1: A possible South African energy matrix, 2018 (DST, 2008) .......................25 Figure 2.2: Revised Balanced Scenario for new generation capacity (DoE, 2010) ........27 Figure 2 3: A value addition landscape for a NSI supporting a knowledge economy (DVC Forum, 2011) ..............................................................................32 Figure 2.4: GERD in current and constant 2005 rand values, 1993/94–2011/12 (HSRC, 2014) .......................................................................................34 Figure 2.5: GERD as a percentage of GDP, 1991/92–2011/12 (HSRC, 2014) (HSRC, 2014) .......................................................................................35 Figure 3.1: Diagrammatic representation of collaborations between institutes and organisations involved in renewable energy research ...............................48 Figure 3.2: Diagrammatic representation of collaborations between institutes and organisations involved in bio-energy research .........................................55 Figure 3.3: Diagrammatic representation of collaborations between institutes and organisations involved in nuclear energy research....................................62 Figure 3.4: Diagrammatic representation of collaborations between institutes and organisations involved in fossil fuel energy research .................................69 Figure 3.5: Diagrammatic representation of collaborations between institutes and organisations involved in fossil energy efficiency and storage research .......75 Figure 4.1: South African energy papers, by data source and by year (2000–2011) ....80 Figure 4.2: South African energy papers compiled from the five selected WoS subject categories, by subject category and by year (2000–2011) .............81 Figure 4.3: WoS journal subject category distribution (%) of energy papers (n=1771, 2000–2011) .........................................................................82 Figure 4.4: Sector distribution (%) of South African energy papers, by year period........84 Figure 4.5: World region classification (%) of collaborating countries of internationally co-authored SA energy papers, by year period ...................87 Figure 4.6: Nature of co-authorship of South African energy papers, by year period ....88 Figure 4.7: Nature of co-authorship of South African energy papers, by WoS subject category (2000–2011) .................................................................................... 88 Figure 5.1: Contribution