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The Citizen
19-05-2025
- Business
- The Citizen
City Power reclaims energy control with John Ware power station
The station is now one of three generation sites that will collectively contribute 150MW of capacity to the Johannesburg grid. City Power has declared a critical milestone in Johannesburg's push for energy autonomy with the revival of the John Ware Open Cycle Gas Turbine Power Station. According to the utility, the recommissioning of the John Ware facility comes as part of City Power's aggressive 10-point plan to reduce the city's vulnerability to national load shedding and improve energy resilience in Gauteng. City Power on Monday added that the John Ware facility stands as 'a symbol of our commitment to making sure that the city remains energy secure'. 'This is about taking control of our own energy destiny,' it said. Breaking free from Eskom's grip The John Ware power station was left vandalised and inoperable after the 2010 Fifa World Cup and now has been brought back to life through a focused refurbishment campaign. The station is now one of three generation sites, alongside Durban Street and Cottesloe, that will collectively contribute 150MW of capacity to the Johannesburg grid. The move represents a significant shift in municipal energy planning, with City Power taking on generation responsibilities traditionally left to Eskom. 'We developed the 10-point plan to respond directly to the country's energy challenges. That includes developing our own generation capacity, which we are delivering on,' the utility said. During commissioning, each of the two 25MW turbines at John Ware successfully generated 18MW, or 72% of capacity, despite limited diesel supplies. 'This dispels the false notion and inaccurate claims that the site generates less than 10MW,' the statement said. ALSO READ: Here's this week's Eskom load reduction and City Power outage schedule Engineering a resilient energy backbone Refurbishment works included major upgrades to fuel infrastructure, electrical systems and mechanical operations. City Power restored damaged fuel tanks, laid new pipelines and replaced key gauges and valves. Electrical work featured new high-capacity cabling, switch gear refurbishment and transformer protection enhancements. City Power invested in advanced grid management technologies, including a centralised Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (Scada) system and smart meters. 'We are building a smart, modernised grid that can respond rapidly to faults and enable more efficient energy supply management,' the utility said. This includes a robust data centre platform designed to support multiple critical systems like Scada, tele-protection and voice communications, ensuring secure and uninterrupted service. ALSO READ: Here's when City Power won't pay up or fix your outage Energy resilience where it's needed most The utility further implemented solar PV systems on public buildings, health facilities and schools to ensure critical services continue during load shedding. Micro-grids and solar public lighting projects are also underway to lighten the load on the main grid. 'These efforts directly respond to the real-world impact of national power constraints on municipal service delivery,' City Power said. City Power's re-entry into power generation signifies more than just infrastructure repair, it reflects a broader political and operational intention to localise energy governance. 'By investing in infrastructure like John Ware, we are building a foundation for Gauteng's economic resilience,' the utility added. NOW READ: City Power is monitoring this weak spot to stop power outages from theft
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Tracing tyres and the EU Deforestation Regulation
Traceability is a key area of focus for Government organisations across the world who are conscious of reducing the carbon footprint produced by the automotive industry. One sector of the industry which may be overlooked by some for its environmental impact is the tyre industry. The tyre industry is at a key moment, facing growing regulatory pressures alongside an increasing need for efficiency, traceability, and sustainability to be optimised. The upcoming EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) represents a key shift for the tyre industry, demanding increased levels of supply chain due diligence. However, although the compliance deadline is fast approaching, many tyre manufacturers are far behind when it comes to implementing the necessary traceability frameworks. We spoke to Dominique Scheider, EMEA industry strategy and marketing manager for transportation, Rockwell Automation and Douglas Johnson-Poensgen, CEO of Circulor, to learn more about the upcoming EUDR regulation and why some within the industry are lagging behind. Just Auto (JA): Could you provide some background on both companies? Dominique Scheider (DS): Rockwell Automation is a global leader in industrial automation and digital transformation, helping manufacturers optimise operations, improve efficiency, and drive sustainable growth. Our solutions integrate advanced technologies such as manufacturing execution systems (MES) and uptime optimization with artificial intelligence (AI), to enhanced quality through traceability and digital threads, and more efficient logistics with autonomous mobile robots (AMRs). We have a long track record of integrating our technology with SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) systems to enhance monitoring, control, and optimization across industrial processes in the automotive industry. Our solutions cover the entire design, operate, and maintain lifecycle, and enable customers to keep a critical eye on sustainability, resilience, and employee empowerment. We've partnered with Circulor, a leading provider of traceability and digital product-passport solutions for various industries, including the tyre industry, to combine our advanced automation offerings with Circulor's digital traceability solutions that provide end-to-end visibility across the supply chain, helping manufacturers comply with evolving regulations such as the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR). We facilitate the connection of the Circulor platform to a customer's plant by means of advanced Internet of Things (IoT) technology. Douglas Johnson-Poensgen (DP): Circulor offers a leading supply chain traceability solution, offering a platform that enables transparency across supply chains to prove sustainability efforts and responsible sourcing. Established in 2017, Circulor leverages technologies like blockchain and AI, to track raw materials from their origin to final products to verify provenance, production flow, material journey, and ESG credentials. This enables companies to make data-driven decisions to reduce risks inherent in today's supply chains; they can progress sustainable practices and support them in meeting growing regulatory obligations. Circulor offers a comprehensive Digital Product Passport solution facilitating compliance with regulations such as the EU Battery Regulation and EU Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), which mandate product passports in 2027. Through our collaboration with Rockwell Automation, we are enabling manufacturers across auto, tyre, battery, metals, mining, and cement industries to address the regulatory challenges - for example the ones posed by the EUDR - while improving operational efficiency and brand reputation. Could you discuss the upcoming EUDR and what this means for the tyre industry? DS: The EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) is a major regulatory shift that will significantly impact industries dependent on raw materials sourced from deforested or degraded land, such as the automotive industry. The EUDR mandates that companies must prove the sustainability and ethical sourcing of materials, including rubber and other raw materials commonly used in tyre manufacturing. For the tyre industry, this means implementing robust traceability systems that can track materials from their origins, such as rubber plantations, through to their use in the final product. This regulation presents both a challenge and an opportunity: automotive manufacturers must adapt to avoid penalties, but those who act proactively will position themselves as industry leaders in sustainability. DP: Circulor provides the technology to support tyre manufacturers in meeting the due diligence requirements of the regulation through digital tools for end-to-end traceability and data verification for each product being placed on the market. Circulor do this by tracking the flow of physical materials throughout production stages, not the paper trail as a proxy, as they change chemical and physical state from raw to final product. With traceability enabled at every production step it creates a reliable digital chain of custody. It's key that this is done digitally through industrial IoT applications – leaving no room for human error or manipulation and removes many of the paper-based traceability challenges. Why are some tyre manufacturers falling behind when it comes to implementing tracing framework? DS: Some tyre makers were ready on time to comply with EUDR before it was postponed, but indeed, others are taking longer to comply. Several factors contribute to tyre manufacturers falling behind in implementing tracing frameworks. The complexity of their global supply chains, the lack of visibility across the supply chain, the absence of standardised data, and the technological barriers of legacy systems can make traceability difficult to achieve. In general, a significant number of manufacturers need to identify where they currently stand and what needs to be done to digitize their operations to have more insight into their production processes. Through our digital service arm, Kalypso, we offer assessments of the digital readiness of manufacturers through which customers can create a roadmap to determine how to implement digital platforms into their existing processes and systems. Kalypso specializes in digital transformation, leveraging advanced data science, AI, and enterprise technologies to drive innovation, optimize operations, and enable end-to-end connectivity across the industrial value chain. As part of this approach, Kalypso will embed Circulor's traceability solution into their suite of existing systems for tyre makers, leveraging the global agreement in place between both companies. What more must tyre manufacturers do to make sure they adhere to regulation? DS: Besides focusing on digitizing their operations by implementing digital solution such as Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES), digital twins, and autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) to enhance production efficiency and ensure compliance with regulatory standards, manufacturers need to keep a critical eye on their sustainability practices throughout the entire design, operation, and maintenance lifecycle. By means of smart technology, users can utilize data analytics to obtain real-time visibility of their operations to make data-driven decisions. Cybersecurity is another important topic. To maintain compliance with regulations, manufacturers need to ensure robust cybersecurity measures are in place to protect sensitive data. DP: Implementing traceability systems is key to complying with the EUDR and must form part of a company's wider risk-based due diligence processes. In addition, the ESPR requires all tyres placed on the European marketplace to have a digital product passport in 2027 to provide transparency to customers, regulators and market surveillance authorities. Our collaboration with Rockwell Automation empowers manufacturers to meet these new regulatory requirements through tools such as the Digital Tyre Passport and provides detailed records on material sourcing and production processes. This will help manufacturers streamline their traceability systems to stay ahead of regulatory deadlines, manage supply chain risks and gain a competitive edge. What are the business benefits of supply chain transparency? DP: Supply chain transparency is a powerful tool for enhancing business resilience and sustainability. By tracking every step of the supply chain, companies can identify risk and inefficiencies, optimise resources, and improve product quality. Transparency also plays a key role in regulatory compliance, helping companies meet requirements like the EUDR while mitigating the risk of penalties and reputational harm. As regulations become stricter, early adopters of transparency will gain a competitive edge. Beyond compliance, it also enables companies to identify inefficiencies within their operations, leading to cost savings and improved production processes. The real-time data provided by digital traceability systems allows for better decision-making and risk mitigation, leading to overall operational efficiency. Additionally, it enhances brand reputation by showing consumers that a company is committed to ethical sourcing and environmental responsibility, while consumers and stakeholders increasingly demand sustainable and ethically sourced products. By providing full visibility into their supply chains, manufacturers can differentiate themselves from competitors, strengthen their market position, and build consumer trust. What do you see the future holding for this issue? DS: Manufacturers are facing a plethora of uncertainties right now on a macro level and globally when it comes to supply chain sourcing and management. Ensuring production continuity will increasingly require operational agility and adaptability. That's why the future of supply chain traceability in the tyre industry is digital, data-driven, and focused on sustainability. At the same time, manufacturers are facing uncertainty over what type of regulations related to sustainability will be required or abandoned in the long run and how strictly they will be enforced - for example, the European Green Deal was rebranded to The Clean Industrial Deal (CID). It focuses on industrial decarbonization, supply chain transparency, and reducing carbon leakage. Rockwell Automation helps customers accelerate industrial decarbonization and reduce CO2 footprints by offering pathways which include energy efficiency, extending asset lifespan, optimizing resources, faster response times to critical incidents, and reducing personnel in remote or sensitive locations. Together with Circulor, we help customers integrate their existing Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software systems with our MES to monitor performance along energy management, Process & Power and Smart Water Management. Manufacturers who embrace these technologies will not only stay compliant with new regulations but will also establish themselves as leaders in sustainable manufacturing, gaining a competitive advantage in a rapidly evolving market. DP: Supply chains cannot be truly secure, reliable and resilient unless they are also sustainable and responsible. Traceability plays an important role in supporting different types of policy goals, including on energy security, and ensuring sustainable and responsible supply chains are supported by strong due diligence processes. Therefore, the future of supply chain transparency will see even more industries embracing full digital traceability as a core business practice to drive sustainable growth and differentiation in a competitive market. As consumer demand for ethically sourced products increases and regulations become stricter, digital traceability will become the standard rather than the exception. "Tracing tyres and the EU Deforestation Regulation" was originally created and published by Just Auto, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Sign in to access your portfolio
Associated Press
16-04-2025
- Automotive
- Associated Press
Kapsch TrafficCom Completes Fort Lauderdale Tunnel Rehab Project
DULUTH, GA / ACCESS Newswire / April 16, 2025 / Kapsch TrafficCom is proud to announce the successful completion of the Henry E. Kinney Tunnel Rehabilitation and Pedestrian Plaza project in downtown Fort Lauderdale. This transformative project, led by the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), enhances both transportation infrastructure and community spaces, setting a new standard for urban integration. 'The Henry E. Kinney Tunnel project is a shining example of how we can blend safety, mobility, efficiency, and community enhancement. It represents a commitment to creating spaces where people can connect and thrive,' says Kapsch TrafficCom North America President JB Kendrick. 'We're incredibly proud to be part of this initiative, and it truly shows how North American leaders look to Kapsch when they need reliable, innovative solutions for critical infrastructure.' Begun in 2021, the three-mile tunnel features a state-of-the-art SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) system that incorporates multiple systems for tunnel safety, traffic management and core elements like lighting and air conditioning in the tunnel. The system also provides real-time data, automated alerts and remote system controls. This allows transportation authorities to detect and respond to incidents quickly, ensuring minimal disruptions and greater efficiency. The systems are designed to improve traffic management and safety, ensuring a seamless flow of vehicles through the tunnel and surrounding areas. Additionally, the project included milling and resurfacing SR 5/US-1 from Rio Vista Boulevard to the southern end of the tunnel, the installation of intelligent transportation systems along SR5/US-1, an extension of the tunnel top to accommodate a pedestrian plaza with new fountains, seating facilities, redesigned brick pavers, artificial turf, and landscaping. The tunnel is just one of many major tunnel, bridge, airport, and major highway projects led by Kapsch TrafficCom in North America, where the company handles more than 650 million vehicle crossings in the Northeast alone. More information on Kapsch TrafficCom SCADA projects in North America can be found here: Press | Kapsch TrafficCom Follow us on LinkedIn Kapsch TrafficCom is a globally renowned provider of transportation solutions for sustainable mobility with successful projects in more than 50 countries. Innovative solutions in the application fields of tolling, tolling services, traffic management and demand management contribute to a healthy world without congestion. With one-stop-shop-solutions, the company covers the entire value chain of customers, from components to design and implementation to the operation of systems. Kapsch TrafficCom, headquartered in Vienna, has subsidiaries and branches in more than 25 countries and is listed in the Prime Market segment of the Vienna Stock Exchange (ticker symbol: KTCG). In its 2023/24 financial year, about 4,000 employees generated revenues of EUR 539 million. Press contact: Sandra Bijelic Head of Corporate Communications Kapsch TrafficCom AG Am Europlatz 2, 1120 Vienna, Austria P +43 664 628 1720 [email protected] SOURCE: Kapsch TrafficCom AG press release
