Running on empty: Mpumalanga’s energy transition needs juice

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Despite its resources and capacity for green energy storage, the province at the heart of the energy transition reaps minimal benefits due to an export-heavy fo

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According to the 2024 database of the department of mineral resources and energy, Mpumalanga has 13 mines and companies trading in transition minerals.Among these, the Nkomati Mine in Machadodorp stands out with its substantial nickel reserves, making it one of the country’s key nickel producers. The Manganese Metal Company , based in the provincial capital, Mbombela, is the leading producer of high-purity electrolyte manganese metal, a critical component for electric vehicle batteries.

Nikomarov pointed out that the lack of a large domestic market to drive economies of scale makes it harder for Mpumalanga to compete in the renewable energy storage solutions sector. While there is a competitive advantage in vanadium, manganese and nickel, the province loses that advantage when moving further down the value chain, such as manufacturing.

Nikomarov suggested government policies should enforce higher local content requirements for certain transition technologies to support local manufacturing. “We could introduce policy incentives, like those in other countries and those for businesses located in industrial development zones,” he said.

Determining whether it is more competitive to manufacture locally than to import components is complex and multifaceted, Ross said. It involves assessing factors such as cost efficiency, technological capability, supply-chain infrastructure and market demand. With sufficient government support, cell manufacturing could become feasible, Nikomarov said, though manufacturing cathode active material, lithium salts and separators — foundational to the performance, safety and scalability of lithium-ion batteries — would be challenging because of the required scale and technological expertise required to succeed.

Nel said the province could benefit from upstream mineral mining, beneficiation — enhancing ore value by removing unwanted minerals — and smelting and refining. Focusing on the development of the raw ingredients used to manufacture the active materials in batteries and other components where Mpumalanga has a competitive advantage, such as vanadium and nickel processing, could strengthen the local supply chain.“At the moment there is a lack of substantial research.

 

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