#WomensMonth2023: Aradhna Pandarum's 'energy' has transitional impact

This year, CSIR Portfolio Manager for the Just Energy Transition and acting Research Group Leader for Energy Systems Aradhna Pandarum represented #TeamCSIR on the panel of keynote speakers at Enlit Africa 2023. Enlit is a constantly growing, inclusive and end-to-end forum that addresses every aspect of the energy agenda - a community that for 365-days a year collaborates and innovates to solve the most pressing issues in energy. Aradhna spoke on the economics of energy storage in Africa. The discussion also touched on assessing some assumptions to be made for getting bankable energy storage projects, local manufacturing potential, the creation of local value chains, challenges, and enablers for implementing storage projects and potential use-cases and technologies. Aradhna is recognised as a phenomenal CSIR woman this Women's Month and beyond.

Women's Month means many things for Aradhna, especially because she is incredibly passionate about uplifting women and creating equality. She has also just been selected to be part of the Global Energising Women to Advance the Energy Transition Mentoring Programme, where she is mentoring women in energy. "Women are constantly underestimated and under-represented and I am hoping that, with my mentorship, we can change the narrative. I also want to be able to encourage more women to join the energy sector. I believe that it is through interventions such as these that we are able to support each other and increase our confidence as a whole," she declares.

Energy awareness should become a societal norm

Delving into her work and looking at energy transition, which is the move away of the energy sector, globally, from fossil fuels and a carbon-intensive economy to one that is low-carbon in nature, Aradhna is paving the way for energy awareness to become the norm at a societal level. Looking at the impact of energy transition on the economic growth of South Africa, Aradhna explains that, due to the significant investment that will be required and the mere scale of infrastructure projects, it is expected to have a positive impact on economic growth in the country. "There are ecosystems that are further required to be developed to enable these infrastructure projects and ensure that the country benefits, in addition to the direct investment that is expected. However, without proper planning and understanding of the impacts and requirements, this will not be achieved," she adds.

The country-wide discussion of the use of wind and solar is an ongoing one. So, what are the realistic expectations for wind and solar, given the current available technology? According to Aradhna, global predictions and modelling have shown that solar and wind will account for the highest capacity that is required for net-zero emission targets. This is because these are the technologies that have the least cost of supply and can be implemented in the shortest time compared to any other low-carbon energy technology. Aradhna says that the technologies have been proven at scale and efficiency improvements are constantly being made to enhance the feasibility.

A burning question is whether Africa can actually become a leading player in hydrogen that is made from renewables? "Definitely! If we decide to come together, collaborate and use each other's strengths to have a bigger voice to drive our agenda. We need to focus on the opportunities and benefits of the technology, while also remaining practical. We need to also prioritise our actions according to what is needed now versus later. Currently, the country is in an energy crisis, and we need to ensure we are working to solve that first, while also having a view of what is required to follow," Aradhna points out.

Many hurdles to be ironed out before addressing energy crisis

In light of the energy crisis, Aradhna explains the future outlook for renewable energy in addressing load shedding: "Currently, there are already many renewable energy projects in the pipeline to address the capacity shortage that we are facing, which is part of the energy crisis. There are, however, many hurdles being faced in moving these projects forward to implementation. These need to be ironed out to ensure that renewable energy initiatives can, in fact, help to address the energy crisis."

Through her daily work at the CSIR, which is mostly focused on people, Aradhna embodies the people-centred value and remains EPIC in all aspects. She is trying to drive research to ensure that South African citizens have better livelihoods and increased opportunities. "I always consider the triple challenge of unemployment, inequality and poverty that the country faces, being a country with the highest unemployment and inequality rates, globally. We can change this if we collaborate with various institutions, reduce duplication and focus on developing this sustainable ecosystem for the Just Energy Transition. I prefer to deliver facts based on research findings to ensure that communities at large are aware of the practical implications of the transition," she asserts.