Enhancing Science Partnerships for Innovation and Sustainable Development

09/04/2013

EnerKey – Innovative solutions for urban energy supply

More than 11 million people currently live in the urban region of Gauteng which is mainly comprised of the three large cities of Johannesburg, Ekurhuleni and Tshwane (formally Pretoria). Its high rate of population growth will make it one of the 30 largest regions in the world within several years.

In the EnerKey project, employees of the University of Stuttgart are working together with partners in South Africa including the University of Johannesburg and the Gauteng regional administration, and in Germany (the city of Stuttgart, the IBP Fraunhofer in Stuttgart, TÜV in Cologne and the Institute for Future Studies and Technology Assessment (IZT) in Berlin) to explore the possibilities for improved sustainability of these future megacities in Gauteng using the example of "energy and climate protection".

The goal of the project (scheduled to run until May 2013) is to improve the energy supply structures, increase energy efficiency and develop suitable pilot projects for climate protection and sustainable energy supply. Important components of the project include, for example, support for creating a residential community with a high percentage of (passive and active) solar energy use, development of a monitoring system for energy-efficient buildings, and the online exchange of ideas on energy issues between students in Stuttgart and South Africa.

You can download a "Project Brief" in English with further details about EnerKey here.

You can find a report from Deutschlandradio Wissen (29/12/2012) about a school visit that was part of the project in our media library.

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