From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, this is the Real Economy Report.

Sashnee Moodley:

Oil and gas company Shell South Africa’s Alberton depot is pursuing sustainability through projects, including solar and battery power, and capacitation for biofuels. Tasneem Bulbulia explains.

Tasneem Bulbulia:

The Alberton depot is a storage and handling terminal for petrol, diesel, and some additives. Shell Alberton terminal manager Fikile Nxumalo expands on the sustainability initiatives being undertaken here.

Shell Alberton terminal manager Fikile Nxumalo...

Tasneem Bulbulia:

Daystar’s Alberton project includes the installation of a 352 kW solar PV project, generating about 640 MWh/y, and a battery that provides about 150 MWh/y of throughput, of which 30 MWh is owing to grid arbitrage. 

This is a proof-of-concept project, whereby Daystar owns the asset, and provides energy to Shell for free for the first year, to showcase how the system works, and uses it as a reference for future projects for the company.

After year one, if proven successful, Daystar will enter into a power purchase agreement with Shell.

Shell Alberton terminal manager Fikile Nxumalo...

Tasneem Bulbulia:

The Alberton depot is also being capacitated for biofuels, as part of Shell’s journey towards reducing its carbon footprint and moving away from diesel. Nxumalo expands.

Shell Alberton terminal manager Fikile Nxumalo...

Tasneem Bulbulia:

Meanwhile, Shell South Africa in May announced that it plans to divest from its South African noncore downstream operations.

The Alberton depot is part of businesses being sold. However, operations are not expected to be impacted following the sale, as it would continue to be an important part of its downstream business, albeit with a change in shareholding.

Sashnee Moodley:

Metallurgy and process engineering company Multotec recently completed construction of its new R100-million screening media factory to consolidate its South African injection-moulded polyurethane screening media factory sites into a single, larger facility, to enhance capacity and increase efficiency. Sabrina Jardim tells us more.

Sabrina Jardim:

The new factory is situated on a 7 068 m² property with 4 360 m² under roof, in close proximity to Multotec’s current Forge road main campus in Spartan, Kempton Park, in Gauteng. Multotec’s new screening facility houses the tool room, production facility, offices and warehousing facilities, providing a comprehensive and efficient workspace.

The injection-moulded polyurethane screening media factory supplies screening media products to mining operations across Southern and West Africa, including Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia and Zimbabwe, as well as to international markets such as Australia, North America and South America.

Multotec engineering manager Ian Chapman...

Sabrina Jardim:

The facility has been built in accordance with the National Building Regulations Environmental Sustainability and Energy Usage in Buildings standards – this includes a solar installation capable of delivering 730 kW including a 1.3 MWh battery.

Multotec engineering manager Ian Chapman...

Sabrina Jardim:

In a media release, Multotec noted that the addition of two new machines, to its current range of polyurethane injection moulding machines, will boost production capacity by 25%.

The company said the new facility was designed with a view of digitising a large part of the workflow in future, necessitating measures, such as allowing for additional space around machinery to be able to install additional equipment.

Multotec CEO Thomas Holtz...

Sabrina Jardim:

As a make-to-order company, Multotec expressed that it is essential for it to have a toolroom close to the production facility, which allows for a quick response to any breakdowns.

Additionally, a localised cross-functional team that includes tool- and diemakers enables fast response times to solve tool malfunctions and efficient support for commissioning new tools.

Although integrated with the new facility, Multotec said the tool room must be enclosed to ensure a controlled environment needed for the very tight tolerances that must be maintained for tooling.

It includes a variety of specialised equipment typically found in a jobbing environment such as manual and computerised numerical control milling machines, surface grinders and electrical discharge machines.

Additionally, advanced scanning equipment, paired with visualisation software, provides accurate measurements of both new and used tooling that is difficult to measure using traditional means.

This ensures that the manufacturing facility continues to produce screening media to a high level of quality.

Multotec CEO Thomas Holtz...

Sashnee Moodley:

That’s Creamer Media’s Real Economy Report. Join us again next week for more news and insight into South Africa’s real economy. Don’t forget to listen to the audio version of our Engineering News daily email newsletter.