Airline body’s latest survey shows sector’s recovery is continuing

The International Air Transport Association (Iata) has communicated that airline Chief Financial Officers and heads of cargo surveyed over the period December 2021 and January 2022 have reported... 

Necsa starts process to replace its Safari-1 reactor

On Sunday the South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (Necsa) released its Request for Information (RFI) for a new multipurpose (nuclear) research reactor (MPR). This is intended to replace the... 

Thulani Dlamini reappointed CSIR head

The current CEO of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Dr Thulani Dlamini, has been reappointed to the position, for a second five-year term. Dlamini started his first term... 

UK engineers develop new way to power micro-UAVs with flapping wings

Researchers in the Faculty of Engineering in the University of Bristol, in England, in the UK, have developed a new technology to propel micro-uncrewed air vehicles (UAVs) which, like birds and... 

French energy group joins UAE green hydrogen aviation fuel project

French global major energy group TotalEnergies has joined United Arab Emirates (UAE) sustainable and clean energy company Masdar and Germany’s Siemens Energy, in a project to use green hydrogen to... 

MeerKAT secures unprecedented image of Galactic core

South Africa’s already world-renowned MeerKAT radio telescope array, located in the Karoo region of the Northern Cape province, has again ‘delivered the goods’. An international team has released... 

Uganda Airlines boasts average aircraft age of only 1.95 years

International airline intelligence, data and news company ch-aviation has announced that Uganda Airlines has been identified as the operator of the youngest airliner fleet in the world, for the... 

World air speed records for Rolls-Royce-led electric aircraft officially confirmed

Renowned UK-based propulsion and technology systems group Rolls-Royce announced on Thursday that its ‘Spirit of Innovation’ technology demonstrator aircraft had been officially declared the world’s... 

South Africa has just deployed its first truly operational satellites

On Thursday, January 13, 2022, a Falcon 9 rocket, designed, developed, assembled and operated by renowned company SpaceX, founded and spearheaded by South African-born entrepreneur and engineer... 

A Pebble-bed modular nuclear reactor supplies grid electricity in China

Last month, a Pebble-Bed Modular Reactor (PBMR) nuclear power plant (NPP) was connected to an electricity grid and began to supply power to its region. This took place on December 20, at the... 

The EU includes nuclear in a draft amendment to its clean energy ‘taxonomy’

The European Commission, which is the executive branch of the European Union (EU), has included nuclear energy in its draft ‘Complementary Designated Act’ (CDA) of the EU ‘Taxonomy Regulation’... 

Ukraine announces plans to expand its uranium sector to boost energy self-sufficiency

The government of Ukraine has approved a plan to expand the country’s uranium production. “The main purpose of this concept is to create conditions for increasing uranium production to fully meet... 

Rolls-Royce-led team smashes world electrically powered aircraft speed records

UK-based global major industrial technology and propulsion systems group Rolls-Royce announced on Friday that the ‘Spirit of Innovation’ aeroplane had set new world records for an all-electric... 

Boeing, Kenya Airways partner in new innovation hub

US-based global major aerospace group Boeing and Kenyan national flag carrier Kenya Airways (which is a public private partnership) have entered into a partnership to develop the Fahari Innovation... 

Regional and smaller airliners market to be worth $650bn by 2040

Brazil-based major aerospace group Embraer published its 20-year Market Outlook, for regional and smaller airliners with up to 150 seats, at the Dubai Air Show on Monday. The Outlook covered both... 

Airbus Helicopters in maiden 100% SAF-powered flight

Airbus Helicopters has for the first time flown a helicopter using 100% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) to power one of its engines. The machine concerned was an Airbus H225, powered by two Safran... 

New UK joint venture to make ammonia credible as a zero-carbon aviation fuel

British air-breathing rocket propulsion technology company Reaction Engines, UK state research and development organisation, the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), and venture... 

Rolls-Royce and Qatar Foundation partner to drive development of green technologies

UK-based global major industrial technology group Rolls-Royce, and the Qatar State-led educational, scientific and community development agency, the Qatar Foundation, have signed a Memorandum of... 

Additive manufacturing in South Africa boosted by local technology developments

Although the Covid-19 pandemic has had a very real impact on the sector, both globally and locally, all signs are that additive manufacturing (AM) – popularly called 3D printing – is set to grow... 

Southern African airlines support action against climate change, but want key issues addressed

The Airlines Association of Southern Africa (AASA) supported positive actions to address climate change, AASA CEO Aaron Munetsi assured in his keynote address to the association’s virtual annual... 

Three African space agencies picked to place imager on International Space Station

A combined project of three African space agencies has been selected by the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) and Airbus Defence and Space as the winner of their joint... 

Africa will need more than 1 000 new airliners over next two decades – Boeing

US major airliner manufacturer Boeing has forecast that African airlines will need to acquire 1 030 new airliners, worth $160-billion, over the next 20 years. This prediction was contained in the... 

Sansa to host Digital Earth Africa office

The South African National Space Agency (Sansa) has been appointed as the Programme Management Office (PMO) for Digital Earth Africa. The latter entity has been established to make Earth... 

The world’s airlines commit to net-zero carbon emissions by 2050

At the 77th Annual General Meeting of their global representative body on Monday, the International Air Transport Association (Iata), the world’s airlines resolved that they would achieve net-zero... 

Necsa welcomes Nersa decision on new nuclear energy for South Africa

The South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (Necsa) on Wednesday announced its support of the recent National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) decision to approve the Section 34 (of the... 

UK first country to publish proposals for nuclear fusion power regulation

The UK government has released regulatory consultation proposals for the regulation of future nuclear fusion technology and power plant design, development, construction and operation. These were... 

Research group reports low level of market concentration in SA agriculture

In a recent brief report, the Bureau for Food and Agricultural Policy (BFAP) pointed out that, according to the available data, the agricultural sector was one of the South African economy’s least... 

Airbus-led consortium to pilot liquid hydrogen fuel at French airport

France’s Lyon-Saint Exupéry Airport will pilot a project, being developed by an Airbus-led consortium, to increase the use of hydrogen in aviation, both in aircraft and ground vehicles, the... 

Major international telescope being built in South Africa by local artisans

An international radio telescope array project, led by the US National Science Foundation, is being built in South Africa’s radio astronomy reserve in the Karoo region of the Northern Cape province... 

UK electric aircraft speed record attempt aircraft flies for the first time

UK-based global major industrial technology group Rolls-Royce has announced that its all-electric aircraft, ‘Spirit of Innovation’, made its maiden flight on Wednesday, at 14h56 British Summer... 

Embraer delivers its 1 500th business jet

Brazilian major aerospace group Embraer has announced that it delivered its 1 500th executive, or business, jet to a client last week. The company achieved this milestone in only 20 years, while... 

Nuclear energy use to grow over next 20 years, requiring increased uranium mining

The World Nuclear Association (WNA) has forecast that worldwide nuclear energy generation capacity will grow by 2.6% a year over the next 20 years. The prediction is contained in the WNA... 

African airlines still need help to survive Covid-19-related losses

As the Covid-19 pandemic continues to afflict Africa, with the number of deaths increasing while the rate of vaccination remains slow, the African Airlines Association (AFRAA) has warned that the... 

South African pilot wins aviation award

Aviation digital ‘hub’ AeroTime has awarded an Aviation Achievement Award to South African pilot and ‘social entrepreneur’ Refilwe Ledwaba. This was in recognition of her creation and development... 

Ethiopian Airlines setting up plane conversion centre

The Ethiopian Airlines Group has announced that it has entered into a partnership with Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) to set up a world class centre in the African country, which will convert... 

World nuclear energy use to grow over next 20 years, requiring increased uranium mining

The World Nuclear Association (WNA) has forecast that worldwide nuclear energy generation capacity will grow by 2.6% a year over the next 20 years. The prediction is contained in the WNA... 

Russian arctic mining project to be powered by nuclear energy

Russian civil nuclear shipping and floating nuclear power plant company Atomflot, part of the State-owned Rosatom nuclear group, has signed a preliminary agreement with mining company GDK Baimskaya... 

South Africa’s radio telescope success stimulates international expansion investment

The South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (SARAO) has already awarded the contracts for the construction of the infrastructure required for the expansion of the country’s world-leading MeerKAT... 

Air transport body reports business confidence within the sector is starting to improve

The International Air Transport Association (Iata) – the representative body for the global airline industry – has released its Airline Business Confidence Index for last month. This shows that... 

Denel releases radical restructuring plan to make the business sustainable

Financially-beleaguered State-owned defence industrial group Denel announced on Wednesday a radical reorganisation, in an attempt to turn the business around. The plan also implied a significant...