Why is improving energy efficiency so important for South Africa? On the one hand, energy efficiency can make a decisive contribution to achieving the country's ambitious climate protection targets. At the individual company level, energy efficiency is an important means of maintaining international competitiveness. Energy efficiency measures in industry also make an important contribution to curtailing the energy crisis in South Africa. This is because South Africa's electricity infrastructure cannot guarantee uninterrupted supply to the country at present or in the medium term.
The fact that measures to increase energy efficiency demonstrably lead to significant savings, both in energy costs and emissions, was made clear by the five projects presented and awarded at the Showcase Event, which were successfully implemented in South Africa using German technology and know-how:

1. CS INSTRUMENTS: Compressed Air System Optimisation at a Foundry.
   Installation of permanent flow meters, data loggers and monitoring system. 560kW compressor taken offline, leading to an annual energy saving of 4,816 MWh;
2. Wilo Pumps SA (PTY) Ltd: Hoopstad Wastewater Pump Stations
   Retrofitting of an existing pump station with Wilo’s Emu-Port solid separation system. Energy savings of 25% and reduction of maintenance costs by more than 60%;
3. Sustainable Power Generation: Biogas CHP Distell Springs
   Installation of a 550 kW MAN biogas CHP engine and a Motortech controller system. The system reduces the daily demand for grid electricity by 6,000 kWh and cuts electricity costs by around 10,000 euros a month;
4. Professional Light Control: Lighting Optimisation DSV logistics facility Gauteng
   Installation of advanced KNX German Motion and Presence detectors: occupancy and lux level based lighting control, adapting according to the natural light coming into the warehouse. The electricity saving is 60% compared to the replaced conventional system;
5. Siemens: Siemens Campus Microgrid
   Innovative system for combined distributed power generation, smart metering and control of energy usage, including storage and load management. Overall 80% electricity cost reduction.
   What all the award-winning projects have in common is that they have high replication and market potential.

Thus, the projects are not only representative for innovative energy efficiency solutions "Made in Germany", but also show possibilities to increase energy efficiency in South Africa nationwide. Furthermore, the projects illustrate the effectiveness of German-South African industrial cooperation in the field of sustainable energy use. The Showcase brochure provides a detailed description of all awarded projects.

A speech by energy expert Teslim Yusuf from the South African National Energy Development Institute (SANEDI) added to the presentation and awarding of the projects. Teslim emphasised the relevance of energy efficiency for the South African economy: c.a. 30,000 jobs are directly or indirectly threatened by regular loadshedding, i.e. power cuts to bridge energy shortages. He also placed the award-winning projects and their exemplary nature in the local context. Tobias Junne (Export Initiative Energy, BMWi) emphasized the importance of creating "awareness" in order to "overcome the hurdles to implementing energy efficiency measures." He also drew attention to the full range of support services offered by the German Energy Solutions Initiative in South Africa: fact-finding and business trips on further topics relevant to the future, such as the production of green hydrogen. The program was complemented by greetings from representatives of the German Embassy, who highlighted the close cooperation between Germany and South Africa in the field of energy transition, particularly in the context of COP26.