Mpumalanga – NCIC South Africa

The National Cleantech Innovation Challenge MPUMALANGA

Clean Energy Challenge

INTRODUCTORY STATEMENT

Mpumalanga—South Africa’s energy heartland—stands at a pivotal moment of technological and economic transformation. As global coal demand declines, the province must reimagine its future through clean energy innovation and industrial renewal.

The NCIC Mpumalanga Clean Energy Challenge invites enterprises, entrepreneurs, and innovators to pioneer scalable cleantech solutions that advance a just energy transition. We seek technologies and business models that repurpose coal-based infrastructure and expertise for renewable energy generation, energy efficiency, and waste-to-energy innovation.

By promoting local manufacturing, skills development, and circular resource use, this initiative aims to strengthen provincial resilience while reducing emissions. Targeted impact areas include:

Decentralized solar and bioenergy systems
Grid-stabilizing storage solutions
Clean fuels
Digital energy services

Through collaboration among industry, academia, and government, this challenge will unlock green jobs, diversify regional economies, and position Mpumalanga as South Africa’s new hub for clean industrial innovation.

WHO CAN APPLY

The NCIC Mpumalanga Clean Energy Challenge aims to accelerate the province’s transition from coal dependency to a diversified, inclusive clean energy economy. This challenge targets innovators and enterprises developing applied, scalable, and locally relevant clean-tech solutions that advance renewable energy, energy efficiency, circular resource use, and industrial renewal.

Applications Are Welcome From:

Very Early-Stage Innovators:
Individuals or teams with functional prototypes for waste-to-energy systems, microgrids, or mine rehabilitation technologies.
Early-Stage Entrepreneurs:
SMEs piloting renewable energy generation, storage solutions, or circular economy business models.
Growth-Stage Enterprises:
Companies with scalable models for industrial reuse of coal-based assets, community energy systems, or province-wide waste valorisation initiatives.

Collaborative proposals involving academia, industry, and government partners are strongly encouraged to ensure sustainable and inclusive impact.

International applicants may participate in partnership with local registered entities, provided that localization, skills transfer, and job creation are central to the project proposal.

CHALLENGE PROBLEM STATEMENT

Mpumalanga’s transition from a coal-dependent economy to a diversified clean energy ecosystem demands innovative solutions that bridge technological, market, and capacity gaps. While the province faces complex socio-economic and environmental challenges, it also holds significant potential to become South Africa’s leading hub for clean energy innovation. This challenge aims to identify and support SMEs and innovators that can deliver tangible, scalable solutions to accelerate this transformation.

Specific Objectives

Diversify the provincial energy mix:
Support the development and demonstration of clean technologies that reduce coal dependence through renewable energy generation (solar, wind, bioenergy) and hybrid systems tailored to Mpumalanga’s industrial and community contexts.
Promote waste-to-energy innovation:
Encourage technologies that convert agricultural, municipal, and industrial waste into usable energy sources—reducing pollution, improving waste management, and stimulating circular economic activity.
Unlock local manufacturing and industrial renewal:
Stimulate SME-led innovation that repurposes existing coal-based assets, skills, and facilities for clean technology manufacturing, including solar module assembly, battery systems, biomass conversion units, and smart grid components.
Enable energy access and efficiency:
Develop decentralized, low-cost, digitally enabled energy solutions that improve access to clean, reliable power for communities, schools, and small enterprises, while advancing energy efficiency and demand-side management.
Foster green enterprise development:
Strengthen the competitiveness of emerging enterprises through mentorship, technology validation, and access to pilot sites, markets, and investors within Mpumalanga.
Reduce emissions and improve air quality:
Support innovations that address the province’s high NO₂ and particulate pollution levels by advancing cleaner industrial processes and sustainable mobility solutions.

What We Are Looking For

We seek applied, context-specific innovations that support the coal-to-clean energy transition at the community level in Mpumalanga. Proposed solutions should reflect a deep understanding of local socio-economic realities, coal-dependent infrastructure, and the skills base of affected workers and enterprises.

Qualified initiatives will:

Present tested or piloted prototypes ready for demonstration or local validation.
Strengthen community-level energy access through decentralized, modular, and affordable technologies.
Demonstrate clear pathways for scaling and sustainability, including market adoption, partnerships, or integration into existing industrial or municipal systems.
Apply digital tools or data systems to enhance efficiency, monitoring, and local innovation ecosystems.
Integrate skills development, circular resource use, and just-transition principles, particularly supporting workers and communities previously reliant on coal-based livelihoods.
Involve local enterprises, cooperatives, and training institutions in implementation to ensure inclusive participation and job creation.

What We Are Not Looking For:

This challenge prioritizes practical, inclusive innovation rather than large-scale capital projects. Proposals will not be considered if they:

Depend on large or utility-scale investment.
Propose generic solar, wind, or bioenergy projects without local integration or workforce retraining.
Offer untested concepts lacking validation or pilot readiness.
Replicate solutions from other contexts without adaptation to Mpumalanga’s coal legacy.
Focus solely on research or feasibility studies without applied, measurable community benefits.

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FAQ

About UJ PEETS

The Process, Energy and Environmental Technology Station (UJ PEETS), hosted within the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment at the University of Johannesburg, is a Technology Innovation Agency–mandated hub that accelerates the transition towards a green, circular, and inclusive economy. UJ PEETS bridges academia, industry, government, and communities to turn research into real-world impact by supporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), public entities, and development partners with applied engineering, innovation, and capacity-building solutions.

Through its regional collaborations in the province, UJ PEETS supports demonstration projects, youth training, and enterprise incubation that contribute to a just transition in the region and is always open to collaboration with local partners.

As part of UJ’s broader sustainability and innovation agenda, UJ PEETS serves as a catalyst for applied research, green enterprise development, and transformative innovation in the Global South. Its mission is to enhance industrial competitiveness and community resilience through technology-enabled solutions that advance climate action, social inclusion, and sustainable economic growth.