South Africa’s vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB) value chain currently lies in raw material output, electrolyte production, and locally manufactured balance of plant components. However, there is potential for a more significant role to be played along the value chain. To foster the growth of a domestic VRFB industry, it is crucial to…"

Renewable energy sources combined with energy storage play a vital role in South Africa's pursuit of energy security and achieving its net-zero objective by 2050. As South Africa grapples with a deepening energy crisis, energy storage technologies are gaining prominence, with batteries taking precedence in the short to medium term. Given the growing need for…"

CBAM is a key policy tool that forms part of the European Green Deal (EGD) to reduce net GHG emissions across Europe and abroad. Within this context, CBAM can be defined as a carbon border tax on embedded GHG emissions of carbon-intensive products imported into the EU. The main intent is to equalise…"

Small businesses are the engines of a fair and green economy. But they lack access to the finance they need to grow. A new report from the Green Economy Coalition (GEC) looks at the barriers that small business face. These include risky and informal money lending arrangements, high bars for accessing credit, regulatory hurdles, and a…"

This paper provides a barometer of the country’s transition to sustainable development, paying special attention to water, as well as its Siamese twin "sanitation”. It has three main themes, namely: the water gap; household water and sanitation access; and governance and funding issues in the sector."

  Trade & Industrial Policy Strategies (TIPS), an economic policy research institute based in Pretoria, is conducting research with the Green Economy Coalition (www.greeneconomycoalition.org) aimed at better understanding the challenges faced by South Africa’s local green/social entrepreneurs. TIPS is inviting all Green and Social Entrepreneurs/Small Businesses in South Africa to participate in an online…"

  Presentations and reports Muhammed Patel - TIPS Presentation: National Employment Vulnerability National Employment VulnerabilityAssessment (NEVA) and Sector Jobs Resilient Plans (SJRP): Coal value chain Report: Sector Jobs Resilience Plan: Coal value chain Pulane Mafoea Nkalai - Sam Tambani Research Institute Presentation: Energy Mix choices and the protection of workers’ interests in South Africa…"

The forestry value chain faces many challenges. These include rising costs for transportation, labour, raw material inputs, energy and imported raw materials, exacerbated by poor road infrastructure that contributes to high maintenance costs and inefficiencies. Increasingly, climate change is an additional stressor that demands transitioning from business-as-usual practices. There is a close link…"

South Africa, a carbon-intensive economy, has initiated a transition to a more sustainable development pathway. While this is centred on the energy sector, the transition is an economy-wide transformation. In a highly unequal society like South Africa, the need for a just transition which would empower vulnerable stakeholders has emerged as an imperative.…"

A global transition to sustainable development is under way and strengthening as a response to multiple socio-environmental crises, including the global impacts of climate change. From a trade and industrial perspective, this transition has implications on the composition and dynamics of entire value chains. This concerns what inputs are accessed, the processes that underlie…"

Concrete is the most manufactured product on the planet. It is the second most consumed product after water.  Unfortunately, the manufacturing of Original Portland Cement (OPC), which accounts for 98% of global cement production, is highly energy intensive and involves a chemical process of converting limestone into clinker which releases massive quantities of…"

The world of mobility is rapidly evolving worldwide. Technological developments are notably enabling the diversification of drivetrains, away from traditional internal combustion engines (ICE) towards electric and other alternative motors. While EVs still account for a marginal share of global vehicle sales, the shift is evident in leading markets. All forecasts point to…"

As South Africa responds to COVID-19 and aims to stimulate the economy and job creation post the lockdown through an infrastructure-led package, an opportunity should not be missed to address many of the water and sanitation challenges in the country. This is much needed and would provide multiple benefits, not only for the…"

As South Africa responds to COVID-19 as well as aims to stimulate the economy and job creation post the lockdown through an infrastructure-led package, an opportunity should not be missed to address many of the water and sanitation challenges in the country. This is much needed and would provide multiple benefits not only to…"

South Africa aims to transition to an inclusive green economy, combining economic development, social progress and environmental preservation. Both the economy and society remain, however, highly unsustainable. Targeting the transition to an inclusive green economy therefore signifies a massive and disruptive shift, commanding a new model of development. Industrial policy is core to…"

Business Day - 26 May 2020 by Gaylor Montmasson-Clair (TIPS Senior Economist) and Jesse Burton (Senior Associate at E3G and the University of Cape Town). Read online at Business Day"

Sugar is a key agricultural industry for South Africa, with sugarcane being the second largest South African field crop by gross value, surpassed only by maize. The industry generates R14 billion in revenues, with sugarcane farming contributing around 64% of this figure, employing up to 85 000 people across the growing and milling…"

In 2015, TIPS, at the request of the then Department of Science and Technology, undertook a project to define "green research and development (R&D)" and determine the levels of green R&D investment in South Africa. In 2019, TIPS was requested by the Department of Science and Innovation (DSI) to update and, where possible,…"

Engineering News - 23 January 2020 by Tasneem Bulbulia Read online at Engineering News"

Daily Maverick - 22 January 2020 by Gaylor Montmasson-Clair (TIPS Senior Economist) Read online at Daily Maverick"