By year’s end, the world's largest hydrogen powered land vehicle will be crawling along the dusty plains of South Africa’s Bushveld region.
Japanese firm Komatsu, which specialises in heavy industrial machines, will dispatch a hauling lorry that weighs almost 300-tonnes to a platinum mine belonging to Anglo American Platinum. These vehicles are common on mining sites, where their vast payload capacity is used to carry ore for processing.
These beasts of machines traditionally use diesel to fire their engines, but this one will be different. It will be powered by hydrogen, through a clean-burning fuel cell. Eventually, Anglo’s entire fleet of mine vehicles will run on emissions-free technology, chief executive Mark Cutifani says.
“We will use wind power or solar to create hydrogen, and then replace the diesel in a truck, we’ll have a carbonless energy footprint.”
Hydrogen is increasingly seen as a clean alternative to fossil fuels. It has no harmful emissions, with its only by-product being water. There are $95 billion worth of hydrogen projects underway across the world, according to PwC.
Fuel cells are highly reliable sources of energy
Countries ranging from the UAE to the US are developing technologies to tap into the most abundant element in the universe as an energy source.
Few countries though have as much to gain from hydrogen as South Africa, which produces around 80 per cent of the world's platinum. The metal provides the catalyst that helps convert hydrogen to electricity through fuel cells.
South Africa’s president Cyril Ramaphosa said the country is developing a 'Platinum Valley', which will foster technologies such as electricity generators and vehicles. Tax incentives will be introduced to encourage local and foreign investment into the sector.
“It presents what I see as a great opportunity to build a local skills base and lead the country into a new era of energy generation and demand for its platinum group metals," Mr Ramaphosa told the parliament.
Hydrogen generators have already been deployed to provide emergency electricity to field hospitals set up to manage a surge in Covid-19 infections, he said.
"Through this Hydrogen South Africa strategy, government and its partners have successfully deployed hydrogen fuel cells to provide electricity in some of our schools, and to build hospitals established as part of the country's Covid-19 response."
The government is under intense pressure to increase energy provision, with business and industry regularly being disrupted by power cuts. The coal dependent grid is straining with age, while providing more than 90 per cent of the national electricity capacity.
The country is in the process of procuring additional renewable capacity, but fuel cells are also likely to be part of the solution, says Zanele Mbatha, chief executive of Bambili Energy, a company which provides emergency generators to field hospitals.
“Fuel cells are highly reliable sources of energy,” she says. “We are so confident in our systems that they can provide the primary power for field hospitals – hospitals that have high care, and intensive care units.”
South Africa is also exploring other hydrogen-related technologies. The national postal service is trialling hydrogen powered motorcycles while the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, a state body, is building a prototype drone it says is capable of staying aloft for up to eight hours, using an electric motor and fuel cell.
Such drones will be useful where cheap aerial surveys are required, such as infrastructure monitoring, geological surveys and even agriculture, says Erik Wegman, a senior CSIR engineer heading the project.
“One can imagine a drone is used to look at a farmer’s crop, to determine which areas need fertilising, which do not – bringing with it a cost saving.”
By using hydrogen, South Africa could even reverse the spending on imported fuel and become a net exporter instead. The country is an ideal environment for wind and solar energy production, which could be used to power the electrolysis plants that produce hydrogen from water.
We can capitalise on this and move ourselves from being an energy importer, to being an energy exporter
Currently, South Africa burns 12 billion litres of diesel a year and 10 billion litres of petrol, most of which is imported.
“We can capitalise on this and move ourselves from being an energy importer, to being an energy exporter,” says Jonathan Metcalfe, head of hydrogen strategy for consultancy firm PwC South Africa.
Adopting a hydrogen strategy could completely revolutionise the South African economy, which is now struggling with record unemployment of 43 per cent, Mr Metcalfe notes. The country already has the infrastructure such as ports and roads needed to bolster exports.
South Africa even has an automotive sector that could potentially manufacture hydrogen-based vehicles for export.
The industrialised world is moving towards hydrogen and South Africa should take advantage of this through the manufacture and exporting of the fuel, Mr Metcalfe adds.
“In order to stimulate the economy, we need additional sources of export revenue. Playing to our strengths in South Africa, hydrogen offers a compelling argument, to generate all-important foreign currency.”
Results
United States beat UAE by three wickets
United States beat Scotland by 35 runs
UAE v Scotland – no result
United States beat UAE by 98 runs
Scotland beat United States by four wickets
Fixtures
Sunday, 10am, ICC Academy, Dubai - UAE v Scotland
Admission is free
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
More from our neighbourhood series:
Britain's travel restrictions
- A negative test 2 days before flying
- Complete passenger locator form
- Book a post-arrival PCR test
- Double-vaccinated must self-isolate
- 11 countries on red list quarantine
Liverpool 4-1 Shrewsbury
Liverpool
Gordon (34'), Fabinho (44' pen, 90' 3), Firmino (78')
Shrewsbury
Udoh (27'minutes)
Man of the Match: Kaide Gordon (Liverpool)
A Cat, A Man, and Two Women
Junichiro Tamizaki
Translated by Paul McCarthy
Daunt Books
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, second leg result:
Ajax 2-3 Tottenham
Tottenham advance on away goals rule after tie ends 3-3 on aggregate
Final: June 1, Madrid
Who was Alfred Nobel?
The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.
- In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
- Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
- Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.
The Uefa Awards winners
Uefa Men's Player of the Year: Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
Uefa Women's Player of the Year: Lucy Bronze (Lyon)
Best players of the 2018/19 Uefa Champions League
Goalkeeper: Alisson (Liverpool)
Defender: Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
Midfielder: Frenkie de Jong (Ajax)
Forward: Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
Uefa President's Award: Eric Cantona
Which honey takes your fancy?
Al Ghaf Honey
The Al Ghaf tree is a local desert tree which bears the harsh summers with drought and high temperatures. From the rich flowers, bees that pollinate this tree can produce delicious red colour honey in June and July each year
Sidr Honey
The Sidr tree is an evergreen tree with long and strong forked branches. The blossom from this tree is called Yabyab, which provides rich food for bees to produce honey in October and November. This honey is the most expensive, but tastiest
Samar Honey
The Samar tree trunk, leaves and blossom contains Barm which is the secret of healing. You can enjoy the best types of honey from this tree every year in May and June. It is an historical witness to the life of the Emirati nation which represents the harsh desert and mountain environments
In Full Flight: A Story of Africa and Atonement
John Heminway, Knopff
White hydrogen: Naturally occurring hydrogen
Chromite: Hard, metallic mineral containing iron oxide and chromium oxide
Ultramafic rocks: Dark-coloured rocks rich in magnesium or iron with very low silica content
Ophiolite: A section of the earth’s crust, which is oceanic in nature that has since been uplifted and exposed on land
Olivine: A commonly occurring magnesium iron silicate mineral that derives its name for its olive-green yellow-green colour
Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Astra%20Tech%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMarch%202022%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDubai%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAbdallah%20Abu%20Sheikh%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20technology%20investment%20and%20development%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%20size%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%24500m%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Mountain%20Boy
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Zainab%20Shaheen%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Naser%20Al%20Messabi%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3A%203%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
What is dialysis?
Dialysis is a way of cleaning your blood when your kidneys fail and can no longer do the job.
It gets rid of your body's wastes, extra salt and water, and helps to control your blood pressure. The main cause of kidney failure is diabetes and hypertension.
There are two kinds of dialysis — haemodialysis and peritoneal.
In haemodialysis, blood is pumped out of your body to an artificial kidney machine that filter your blood and returns it to your body by tubes.
In peritoneal dialysis, the inside lining of your own belly acts as a natural filter. Wastes are taken out by means of a cleansing fluid which is washed in and out of your belly in cycles.
It isn’t an option for everyone but if eligible, can be done at home by the patient or caregiver. This, as opposed to home haemodialysis, is covered by insurance in the UAE.
What is the FNC?
The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning.
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval.
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.
Herc's Adventures
Developer: Big Ape Productions
Publisher: LucasArts
Console: PlayStation 1 & 5, Sega Saturn
Rating: 4/5
ICC T20 Team of 2021
Jos Buttler, Mohammad Rizwan, Babar Azam, Aiden Markram, Mitchell Marsh, David Miller, Tabraiz Shamsi, Josh Hazlewood, Wanindu Hasaranga, Mustafizur Rahman, Shaheen Afridi
