South Africa seeks to strengthen cooperation with Japan for hydrogen economy
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of those materials for nuclear power,” he says. “Our work in explosives has carried over into conventional weapons. We look at composites that have side benefits in industrial and other applications.” Scientists from universities, laboratories, and research centers across the world have used SSP-supported facilities for non-weapons research. The NIF and the Z-machine are at the center of efforts to achieve nuclear fusion as an abundant source of clean energy. Experiments at the NIF help astrophysicists better understand the universe by studying the effects of meteorite impact and by recreating the high energy density matter at the center of planets and stars. “The stewardship program has given birth to a whole new experiment-based astrophysics initiative that hasn’t existed in all of our history,” says Gilbert Collins, a high energy density physicist at Livermore. Experimental work is tied intricately to computational efforts. Virtual testing requires sophisticated simulations and
South Africa seeks to strengthen cooperation with Japan for hydrogen economy www.dst.gov.za
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outh Africa’s Minister of Science and Technology, Naledi Pandor, closed out the summer of 2015 with a visit to Japan in order to enrich cooperation between the two countries in the field of hydrogen fuelcell technology. Accompanied by Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa, Pandor held several engagements with Japanese stakeholders, including a round table meeting with academic institutions and a Symposium on the Hydrogen Economy. Hydrogen and fuel-cell technology presents a niche area for collaboration between the two countries. While Japan has already started to create a hydrogen economy—boasting the largest share of patents in this field—South Africa has considerable deposits of platinum, which is a key catalytic material used in fuel cells. As part of the global agenda to integrate energy systems, South Africa has positioned itself as a significant player in developing these technologies. During the
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Minister’s address to the Symposium on the Hydrogen Economy, she said there was a global movement toward developing sustainable energy systems and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. “For this reason, the use of hydrogen as an energy carrier, combined with fuel-cell technology, has attracted considerable interest from governments, international bodies, and commercial companies worldwide,” said Pandor. Hydrogen, electrolyzer, and fuel-cell combinations offer a viable and costeffective method of storing energy on a large scale, especially in instances where the energy is generated during times of low demand. When used as feedstock for fuel cells, hydrogen produces electricity at a high efficiency—with zero emissions—even for applications such as road vehicles and electricity-generation. Globally, a number of companies are developing megawatt-scale proton-exchange membrane electrolyzers to improve energy-storage applications.
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three-dimensional modeling of weapons materials systems.
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