The South African government has launched a R37.5 million biorefinery facility in Durban, which is set to extract maximum value from biomass waste. The facility, which is a first for South Africa, will support innovation in a range of industries, including forestry, agro processing and other biomass-based industries.

The Minister of Science and Technology, Ms Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane, launched the Biorefinery Industry Development Facility (BIDF) at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) campus in Durban today, 20 March 2018.

The second edition of an atlas showing South Africa’s vulnerability to climate change has been launched in Johannesburg, to help the country’s economic and social sectors take informed decisions to avoid risks related to climate change. Developed by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), an entity of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), the South African Risk and Vulnerability Atlas (SARVA) disseminates spatial and non-spatial data that describes, assesses and evaluates the risks and vulnerabilities facing the country due to climate change.

Report: South African Risk and Vulnerability Atlas

The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) showcases some of the latest technologies to improve safety in the mining sector.

These innovative technologies will be displayed at the Mining Indaba taking place in Cape Town from Monday, 5 to Thursday, 8 February 2018.

The Inaccessibility of some areas underground makes it difficult and dangerous for inspections after blasting. The CSIR developed a robot platform equipped with safety inspection sensors to enter mines during safety periods. Known as “Monster”, the robot aims to assess and identify risk for underground mines.

Growing up in a community with a lack of resources to stimulate learning, and being surrounded by poverty, substance abuse, and high numbers of child-headed families, is a dream killer for most youngsters. These are some of the factors that always push a group of young people into the world of crime. However, Charles Maphanga, a young researcher at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), did not allow similar conditions in Ga-Mampuru village, Limpopo, to stop him from dreaming big.

South African students from different universities will represent the country at the International Student Cluster Competition hosted at the 2018 International Supercomputing Conference in Germany. The students came first at a national competition which took place during the annual Centre for High Performance Computing (CHPC) conference in Pretoria last week.  
Watch the interview here.[YouTube]

The next industrial revolution must be inclusive and the science community must ensure that young people are empowered to participate, says Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa. The Deputy President addressed thousands of people who packed the CSIR International Convention Centre today, for the first day of the Science Forum South Africa (SFSA) 2017, joined by the Minister of Science and Technology, Naledi Pandor.

The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) is celebrating 10 years of conducting world-class research and development in the field of nanotechnology. The CSIR’s National Centre for Nanostructured Materials (NCNSM) was launched in 2007 as part of the implementation of government’s National Nanotechnology Strategy. Nanotechnology research is a key pillar of the CSIR’s activities that is focussed on finding solutions that address the broader societal challenges of South Africa.