Team:Pretoria UP/HP/Gold
Involving Industry Integrated Human Practices
Dr Karen Surridge-Talbot
On Friday, 19 August 2016, we interviewed Dr Karen Surridge-Talbot, Center Manager at SANEDI. Dr Surridge-Talbot is engaged as Centre Manager for the Renewable Energy Centre of Research and Development (RECORD) at the South African National Energy Development Institute (SANEDI). This centre is mandated, through the government act (National Energy Act 2008, no. 34) that established SANEDI, to coordinate renewable energy research and development in South Africa.
During 2012 Dr Surridge-Talbot visited many solar installation and research facilities in Spain and Germany to observe and learn from global expertise and experience in this sector. Finally, Dr Surridge-Talbot is also currently serving on the council of the South African Coal Ash Association (SACAA) as well as on the executive committee of the South African Solar Energy Association (SASEA).
From the interview with Dr Surridge-Talbot we obtained feedback on the problems that may be faced with the possible future application of our project. The main issue raised in this interview by Dr Surridge-Talbot was that of a social aspect. Our project, WattsAptamer, may face the same problems as with GMOs if the final application involves synthesising the aptamers in-vivo leading to self-assembly of the entire system. A significant number of people in South Africa do not have the understanding of what GMOs are, which will make it difficult for them to accept the use of our cell. There are also strict regulations involved in working with GMOs, which could serve as a further restriction to fulfilling the future application of this project.
In light of this potential problem we decided to adjust our project by not using the in-vivo system but rather use forestry industry waste products to generate electricity as long as the project does not affect the quality of wood.
According to Dr Surridge-Talbot there are potential uses for our cell at SANEDI. SANEDI has programs whereby resource assessments are conducted on weather stations which are powered by PVCs placed on top of these weather stations. These PVCs are then connected to electricity supply on the ground. SANEDI often face security issues where the electricity supply equipment powering the PVCs are regularly stolen.
The PBEC cell we developed could in future be the solution to this problem, as it may power the PVCs eliminating the need for an electricity supply on the ground. Furthermore, the cell could be used in monitoring and security equipment.
Women in Energy Business Summit, hosted by Department of Energy and SANEDI
The Women in Energy Business summit is hosted by the National Department of Energy as an effort to economically empower South African women in the energy sector. The theme of this year's event is “women in energy united in moving South Africa forward” and is aimed at encouraging about 1000 women from all nine provinces to participate in the energy sector as entrepreneurs, investors, professionals, and leaders in the energy field. The conference also seeks to raise awareness on relevant energy issues and promote programs such as energy efficiency.
Our team, sponsored by SANEDI, used the women in energy business summit as a platform to raise awareness of synthetic biology, our project, as well as get people's general views and concerns. We set up a stall where we displayed two posters, one on our project and the other on the general applications of synthetic biology. We managed to interact with many of the people who attended the event, who we then educated on what synthetic biology is. Finally we were able to have in depth conversions with 30 delegates of whom none knew much about synthetic biology. They were quite interested in the future of the project and to know about how they could invest in its development.
Also at the summit we interviewed Ms Dikeledi from the Lesedi Power Project.
The Lesedi Power project is a solar photovoltaic power generation plant that produces clean electrical energy using thousands of polycrystalline modules, vital for the economic growth and development of the region and greater South Africa.The project is playing its part in helping South Africa meet its renewable energy targets, with the added benefit of stimulating long-term economic development and job creation.
We spoke to Miss Naledi who works at Lesedi Power Project on synthetic biology, renewable energy and our project, WattsAptamer. Before our conversation with her, she was like many delegates at the summit who did not know anything about synthetic biology. She was intrigued by the WattsAptamer project and looked forward to seeing the results we obtain as well as its development and its eventual implementation. Her concerns included our use of tree leaves to obtain thylakoids as well as the cost and feasibility of the project if we were to do it on an industrial scale.
Taking her concerns into account, we changed our thylakoid source from tree leaves to spinach and in the future cyanobacteria. Also, we will look into obtaining material from the forestry industry as the industry regards leaf material as waste. On renewable energy, she did state cost of the equipment used as one of the biggest hurdles in the way of making it the main form of energy source in South Africa. She, however, supports further development in this area due to the minimum negative impact it has on the environment.
By using graphene, the cost of our photoelectro-biochemical cell will be less than that of current technologies, including solar panels. The use of cyanobacteria, which are regarded as pollutants and toxic, will contribute towards making the environment cleaner. The cell will also contribute in reducing an individual’s carbon footprint as well as reducing the CO2 emissions by South Africa, aiding the battle against global warming and its effects on Earth.
Presenting at SANEDI offices, Sandton.
Dr Karen Surridge-Talbot the centre manager at SANEDI invited us to present at the offices in Sandton. The presentation took place on the 12th October. On this day, we presented our iGEM project and handed out a survey to the SANEDI employees as well as the CEO (Mr. Kadri Nassiep) and CFO (Ms Lethabo Manamela). The survey intended to probe the knowledge of synthetic biology and biotechnology in our communities. Especially those working in the energy sector. The results of the survey are as follows. Although many did not know of synthetic biology before our presentation they seemed quite interested and intrigued by it and the possibility of the future applications it may have in the renewable energy sector.
The respondents were then asked whether our project could potentially be expanded in the energy sector. They were given three options, namely option A: “Yes, it has potential as a renewable energy source in the distant future.” Option B: “No, it will forever remain a novelty for teaching a novelty for teaching and demonstrations.” Lastly, option C: “Possibly if further development occurs.” Majority (89%) of the respondents answered option A with few agreeing on the condition that the fuel cell be developed further and no one choosing option B.
The respondents were then asked to compare the fuel cell we presented with current solar cells used in the renewable sector. Solar cells are currently far more efficient than PBEC fuel cells. To increase the commercial viability of the cell, they were asked what they thought would improve the efficiency of the cell. The respondents were given the following options with the results shown in the graph below.
Lastly, we wanted the respondents’ opinion about our Fuel cell design. The respondents felt that the scalability of the PBEC fuel cell needed attention. To do this focus needed to be directed to the inefficiencies present in the cell as well as the cost of manufacturing the components. A second concern was the sustainability of the PBEC fuel cell. If applied on a larger scale it would be difficult to refuel the cell daily, especially since the requirement for large amounts of water may pose a problem in water-scarce countries south as South Africa. Thus, the designers should consider a more renewable and environmentally friendly design. Due to the water crisis, we need new technologies that will save water rather than use more of it. Concerns were also raised about the requirement for plant material and what effect this may have on the environment.
A. Simplified methods for large-scale photosystem extraction from plants
B. Reduce industrial processing steps by using bio-engineering techniques that enable the photosynthetic machinery to self-assemble
C. Genetically engineering the photosystem of a feedstock (raw material) crop to enhance the efficiency of electron harvesting
D. Increase the scale of production of a feedstock crop
E. Explore novel nanomaterials for electron transfer at the electron- photosystem interface
F. Increase the durability of photosynthetic proteins
The respondants had the following to say about our project:
