Decarbonising industrial operations requires increasing operational efficiency, and achieving this will also reduce costs. So highlighted German development agency GIZ South African technical adviser Sibusisiwe Khuzwayo, in a presentation on the last day of the 2026 Enlit Africa conference, which was held at the Cape Town International Convention Centre.

South African industry was facing converging pressures, she pointed out. On the operational side, there were assets that were often ageing, oversized utility systems and limited structural energy reviews (a consequence of loadshedding). On the trade and market side, there were the issues of the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, export competitiveness, Scope 1 and Scope 2 carbon emissions disclosure requests, and supplier decarbonisation expectations. Then there was the regulatory environment, with the Carbon Tax Phase 2, the Climate Change Act implementation, and Minimum Energy Performance Standards compliance obligations. And, of course, cost pressures, such as Eskom tariffs (which had, since 2007, increased at a faster rate than inflation).

She also noted that globally, about 72% to 74% of industrial energy demand is used to produce heat, with only about 9% of industrial heat currently supplied by renewables, and about 2.5 Gt of CO₂ emissions associated with industrial heat.

Adopting modern equipment could improve energy efficiency. For example, new motors could increase energy efficiency by 3% to 8%, while the figures for new compressors were from 20% to 30%.

In South Africa, the GIZ’s Project Development Programme (PDP) helped companies develop energy efficiency and decarbonisation projects. It operated in the space between the completion of energy efficiency audits and the implementation of such projects. It facilitated relationships between South African companies and German companies that could meet their needs. The scale of the projects could range from simply replacing inefficient equipment all the way up to comprehensive totally integrated modernisation and decarbonisation projects.

“Our approach is an integrated energy approach,” she explained. “We work across different technologies.”

PDP provides a needs assessment, then technical optimisation, financial analysis and then matchmaking with suitable partners in Germany. It can access about 15 000 top-tier German component suppliers and project developers. PDP can also provide support, afterwards.

A recent project in the Côte d’Ivoire, at a polyvinylchloride pipe manufacturer, is expected to produce energy savings of 650 MW/h/yr. Another project, at a flower farm in Kenya, is expected to provide energy savings of 125 MW/h/yr.       

PDP was, she stressed, an independent consultancy, not linked to any company. And its services were free.