Latest news with #NMB
Barnama
4 days ago
- Business
- Barnama
NMB and CIMA Formalise Strategic Partnership to Develop Malaysia's First Low-carbon, Graphene-enhanced Concrete
KUALA LUMPUR, June 19 (Bernama) -- NMB (NanoMalaysia Berhad), a CLBG under the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI), and Cement Industries of Malaysia Berhad (CIMA), a wholly-owned subsidiary of UEM Group Berhad, today announced the signing of a strategic partnership to drive the development of Graphene Enhanced Concrete – a groundbreaking sustainable building material locking in solid carbon derived from greenhouse gas atmospheric emission, aimed at transforming Malaysia's construction industry by addressing critical environmental and performance challenges. This partnership aims to pioneer the integration of nanotechnology into the construction industry, focusing on delivering concrete solutions that not only meet but exceed all key technical performance criteria. By advancing innovation in materials science, it is foreseen that the development of a new generation of green and sustainable concrete will be designed to support long-term environmental goals while elevating industry standards.
Daily Maverick
5 days ago
- Business
- Daily Maverick
Nelson Mandela Bay metro asks council to urgently approve millions for security firm looking after substations
If the company is not paid, the substations are at risk of being left unguarded and, therefore, vulnerable to vandalism, which could cause costly power outages Nelson Mandela Bay's acting city manager, Ted Pillay, has asked for an urgent decision by council to approve the reallocation of more than R20-million from the current year's budget to pay the security firm guarding some of the city's major substations. According to council documents, the urgent payment will avoid the security firm's withdrawal, and leaving the city's substations vulnerable to theft and vandalism. In a metro where cable theft is rife, Nelson Mandela Bay (NMB) now owes its security service provider R21-million, according to a report before council. A payment of R7-million was made last week to avoid the substations being abandoned by guards. The matter is expected to be heard on Wednesday, 18 June, after it was deferred because not all councillors had seen the documents. Adopt-a-substation Wayne Hart, from Atlas Security, said that while his organisation is not the security provider owed millions by the municipality, Atlas does guard crucial substations in several parts of the city as part of the Business Chamber's Adopt-a-Substation programme. As part of this programme, businesses fund private security to protect substations against attacks. Highlighting the importance of security at these substations, Hart said the company protects the large substation at Struandale. Part of its plan involves stationing guards and security vehicles there 24/7. 'This initiative was launched two years ago, and to date we haven't had one single incident. Before our involvement that substation was a target and would often knock half of the industrial areas out,' he said. He added that his company also monitors alarms at other substations and responds accordingly. Other security measures employed under the Adopt-a-Substation initiative include perimeter fencing and the installation of hi-tech security cameras monitored around the clock. Letter to the Presidency In a letter written to the Presidency, several government departments and Eskom in late 2024, the CEO of the Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber, Denise van Huyssteen, requested that the government declare the two substations at Chatty in NMB as national key points. She also asked that the government consider sending in the army to protect the infrastructure. In her letter Van Huyssteen highlighted that in 2023 there had been several incidents of cable theft at the municipal substation, and the fence and alarms were tampered with to gain access. It is estimated that damage to the crucial Chatty substations could lead to power outages of several weeks in NMB. In the past 12 months, there have been several reported instances of vandalism at substations in the metro leaving residents without power. Major risk In its 2025 integrated development report, vandalism is highlighted as one of the major risks facing the city. The report also states that the metro's electricity department will have to be subsidised by municipal rates to remain viable. Opposition parties have repeatedly argued in council that the electricity department would bankrupt the city if a successful turnaround plan was not implemented. 'We have not seen a turnaround plan yet,' said Werner Senekal, a Democratic Alliance member in the council . In its application to the National Energy Regulator for tariff increases, the metro said vandalism and cable theft are two of the factors hampering an efficient electricity service in NMB. DM
Barnama
30-05-2025
- Business
- Barnama
NanoMalaysia Berhad Wins Accolades at ITEX 2025 for National Innovations
KUALA LUMPUR, May 30 (Bernama) -- NMB (NanoMalaysia Berhad), the nation's lead agency for nanotechnology and deep tech commercialisation under the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI), achieved prominent recognition at the 36th International Invention, Innovation & Technology Exhibition (ITEX 2025), held from 29 to 30 May 2025 at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre. Competing in the Corporate category of the prestigious ITEX Invention & Design Competition, NMB presented four breakthrough innovations showcasing Malaysia's leadership in hydrogen mobility, advanced energy storage, sustainable household technology, and intelligent monitoring systems as high value technological interventions to Malaysia's economic growth trajectory to become a high-tech and high income nation through both the 12th and 13th Malaysia Plan periods.
The Herald
21-05-2025
- Business
- The Herald
Diversification the way to go in a changing world
Change is inevitable — what matters is how we anticipate and respond to it. By planning for change, we can find opportunities for growth and evolution and build adaptability and resilience. It is common cause that the world is facing increasingly rapid change across a wide and complex span of issues. Most recently, global tariff wars and upheavals in economic and geopolitical relationships have been layered onto the impacts of climate change and technology advancement and automation on economies and societies. This all ripples into our local manufacturing- and exports-driven economy and its employment capacity, in turn affecting the tourism, hospitality, retail and services sectors. We have also long known that our local economy is over-reliant on the automotive industry, now facing unprecedented challenges due to the shift to new energy vehicles in key export markets and the impact of cheaper imports into the local market. Diversifying the local economy in the face of change is increasingly urgent, not only for retention of existing investments and employment, but also to attract new investments in future-orientated sectors which build on our existing strengths in manufacturing, technology and agro-processing, and create new jobs along a localised value chain. The NMB Business Chamber set up the Local Economy Reinvention Think Tank about two years ago to respond to that challenge, to look forward into a changing world and identify opportunities to build a diversified, sustainable manufacturing and exports hub for the continent. We brought together some of the Bay's leading innovative thinkers, challenging them to think out of the box on what the economy of the future could look like and map the path to adapting our current strengths into new areas of economic activity. Shifting to a low-carbon economy is a priority, while it is also critical that identified projects must be scalable and self-sustaining, able to stand up as viable business cases. It is also crucial not only to create new jobs but to grow a pool of 'future fit' skills in the metro. Think Tank workstreams are investigating local economic opportunities linked to the planned Hive Hydrogen green ammonia plant at Coega; and fuel cell technology and manufacturing, alternative mobility solutions and new energy vehicle technology, adaptation of manufacturing activities to reduce carbon footprints (and local development of the technology to do so). Several of these prospects have now moved from the brainstorming stage into technical scoping and feasibility assessments captured into 'white papers' outlining the strategic, operational and financial model of a specific project and its forecast economic and social impacts. We have taken a value chain approach that aims not only to diversify local manufacturing, but to stimulate up- and downstream linkages that support local participation by both small and large businesses at various points in the supply chain. For example, our white paper on a proposed industrial hemp project — based on this crop's existing viability in the Eastern Cape, but hampered by quality and consistency of supply — starts with integrating small-scale farming and commercial agriculture enterprises into a value chain of agro-processing, manufacturing and end-user supply. The project scope encompasses training and ongoing mentoring to enable farmers to meet quality and volume requirements of the agro-processors they will supply. This 'link' in the value chain is intended to empower rural communities around the Bay and create jobs in those areas. It also links into local opportunities for SMMEs to manufacture products and supply services to support the agricultural element. A further link is into the logistics, storage and transport of the raw product, then into a local agri-processing plant, and onward into supplying national and global hemp value chains to meet the demand for renewable and low-carbon materials in diverse sectors. The automotive manufacturing sector is a key target, for sound-deadening and insulation components from renewable sources. Further hemp value chains include manufacturing of biofuels, biodegradable plastics and textiles, hemp seed oils, biomass for energy generation, carbon credit trading and battery chemicals and components. Each of these holds potential for a local business or incoming investor to capitalise on the opportunity and enter the value chain at a point aligned to their existing business or to diversify their operations. Pre-feasibility assessments are also under way on local manufacturing and installation of solar geysers and small-scale hydrogen generation and storage for cleaner, greener residential energy, as well as a project for carbon dioxide capture and electrochemical conversion, to 'green' the industrial energy supply. The Think Tank will release these white papers into the public domain, detailing the feasibility and the logistics of implementing these concepts, for consideration by entrepreneurs, investors, green venture capitalists and government. The benefit is that we have done the groundwork, and we may have insights and information which others don't have, but we are not saying we are 100% correct. We want to stimulate thinking, provide a spark for bigger ideas and collaborations to evolve; for interested parties to take them up, run with them, expand on them and turn them into profitable enterprises. Watch this space. Kelvin Naidoo is m anufacturing and technical director of Auto-X and a cting president of the Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber. The Herald
Barnama
14-05-2025
- Automotive
- Barnama
Strategic Malaysia-Japan Hydrogen Partnership Formalised At World Expo 2025
OSAKA, May 14 (Bernama) -- Hypertech Industries Sdn Bhd (HISB), a subsidiary of NMB (NanoMalaysia Berhad) Group of Companies, and Hydronext Inc. of Japan exchanged a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at the Malaysia Pavilion in the World Expo 2025 Osaka, Japan. The exchange ceremony was between NMB's Chief Executive Officer and Director of HISB, Dr Rezal Khairi Ahmad, and the Chief Executive Officer of Hydronext Inc., Masaaki Nagai. It was witnessed by the Secretary General of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, Datuk Seri Hj Hasnol Zam Zam Bin Hj Ahmad. This strategic partnership marks a significant milestone in advancing technological innovation underpinned by industrial collaboration between Malaysia and Japan towards developing a sustainable regional hydrogen economy. The MoU outlines a shared commitment to conduct feasibility studies and technology development across the hydrogen value chain in Malaysia and Japan. The collaboration focuses on the integration of respective hydrogen production and processing proprietary technologies for various industrial applications, including fuel cell electric vehicles and direct use as fuel or conversion into sustainable fuels for transportation modes such as trucks, rail, ships, and aviation; as well as providing remote electrification solutions. Both parties will explore knowledge transfer, technology localisation, and potential investment opportunities in Malaysia and Japan.
