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An analysis of Africa’s engagement in EU-led renewable energy initiatives: A case study of LEAP-RE programme

(Palgrave MacMillan, 2026-05) Mashigo, R; Managa, Lavhelesani R; Dubey, A; Solomon, H

In line with the climate change response, Africa is on a mission to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels and other sources of energy that are detrimental to the environment. With the increasing population and rising energy demands, Africa-led sustainable renewable energy interventions in Africa are more vital than ever before. Several initiatives have been introduced to support Africa’s response to this challenge. However, ‘externally driven initiatives often surpass the African Union’s (AU) strategies and initiatives in this area. The Agenda 2063 Framework Document (2015) states that as a result of non-African led initiatives (e.g. through the Structural Adjustment Programs of 1980 to early 1990s), it led to “to slow growth, de-industrialisation and increased dependence on raw materials exports” in Africa. In today’s context, these initiatives are usually led and funded by non-African institutions and implemented in Africa with limited consideration of Africa’s capabilities needs. To support the objectives of the European Union’s Green Deal as well as other preceding strategies of the European Union (EU), the EU launched several initiatives, including the Long-term Europe-Africa Partnership on Renewable Energy (LEAP-RE) programme launched in 2021, which seeks to establish a long-term partnership of African and European stakeholders in the field of renewable energy, as a response to the climate change crisis. These projects focus on areas of research, innovation, and technology development that have been jointly devised by both African and European stakeholders. However, these areas are often not in sync with Africa’s strengths and renewable energy potential. This paper contributes to the growing literature that analyses Africa’s investments, priorities, and engagements in responding to climate change. It references the development of the LEAP-RE programme and its relevance to the African context. It concludes with recommendations on the approaches for Africa to leverage external resources to meet the increasing energy demands in the continent while capitalising on its resource potential.

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Microstructure, phase stability, and mechanical properties of binary Ti-Mo and ternary Ti-Mo-Fe alloys for biomedical applications

(2026-03) Moshokoa, NA; Makhatha, ME; Raganya, Mampai L; Makoana, Nkutwane W; Phasha, M; Moema, J

Metastable β-Ti alloys with non-toxic and low-cost alloying elements, with high biocompatibility and improved mechanical properties, are being developed globally for biomedical applications. Howerver, there is still limited published work on Ti-Mo and Ti-Mo-Fe alloys with high Mo content and low cost alloying element with high strength designed for biomedical applications such as vascular stents. Thus, the current study uniquely investigates the combined influence of Fe addition and theoretical methods on β stability and mechanical performance of Ti-Mo alloys with high Mo content vascular stents. Two metastable β-Ti alloys, namely, binary Ti-20Mo wt% (referred to as Alloy 1) and ternary Ti-16.5Mo-1.1Fe wt% (referred to as Alloy 2), were designed using the theoretical predictive methods such as the molybdenum equivalence (Moeq), the average Bo-Md method, and the electron-to-atom ratio (e/a). Microstructural characterization and tensile properties of the alloys after solution treatment at 1100 °C and quenched in ice-brine were analysed. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns and optical micrographs showed stability of the β phase in both alloys due to similarity in e/a ratio value and a slight difference in Moeq. Alloy 1 showed a high ultimate tensile strength (UTS) of 920 MPa and yield strength (YS) of 906 MPa, whereas a much lower UTS of 540 MPa was observed in Alloy 2. The elastic modulus decreased from 85 GPa in Alloy 1 to 74 GPa in Alloy 2, while micro-Vickers hardness increased significantly from 353 Hv0.5 in Alloy 1 to 428 Hv0.5 in Alloy 2. The high strength and modulus in Alloy 1 illustrated that the alloy could be considered as a potential alloy for biomedical applications such as those in vascular stents.

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Additively manufactured carbide and nitride doped Co22.2Cr22.2Ni22.2Cu22.2Nb11.2 high-entropy alloy for surface engineering application

(2026-06) Alabi, AS; Popoola, API; Popoola, OM; Mathe, Ntombizodwa R

Metal-matrix composites have gained wide recognition owing to their superior tailorability, which surpasses that of traditional alloys. The development of multicomponent metal-based high-entropy alloy (HEA) systems has increased the potential for fabricating tunable composites for surface engineering applications. It has been established that the intrinsic properties of the composites are determined by the phases present in their base alloys, reinforcement types, and volumes. Herein, 5 wt% of vanadium carbide, titanium nitride, and a combination of both ceramics were added to Co22.2Cr22.2Ni22.2Cu22.2Nb11.2 HEA and fabricated via directed-energy deposition. The investigation highlights the first-time use of both ceramics and their synergistic utilisation as hybrid reinforcement in the directed-energy-deposited HEA. The candidate with the best hardness, tribological properties, and corrosion resistance was identified after various characterisations. It was found that the composite reinforced with a combination of both ceramics had the best microhardness value of 736 ± 30.79 HV. The titanium nitride-reinforced composite exhibited the highest wear resistance with 6.69 × 10⁻⁶ mm³ /Nm at 20 N applied load. However, the synergy of both reinforcements offers enhanced lubricity, resulting in the lowest coefficient of friction of 0.071. A worn track analysis revealed that the samples were characterised by a transition from severe adhesive wear to cold-welded tribo-layer formation. The unreinforced HEA demonstrated the highest corrosion resistance with 567.79 Ω polarisation resistance and a corrosion rate of 0.6909 mm/year. It was concluded that the developed HEA and its composites are promising candidates for surface engineering application.

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AI enabled industrial internet of Things (AI-IIoT) systems: An overview

(2026-03) Vishnu, S; Rajagopal, V; Kirubaraj, AA; Sirimella, P; Abu-Mahfouz, Adnan MI

The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) plays a key role in transforming the traditional industrial infrastructure into a smart integrated framework through the amalgamation of physical entities and virtual entities. The integration of AI into the IIoT systems opened a new paradigm named AI-IIoT that enhanced the performance of IIoT systems through data centric insights, prognosis, adaptive actuation, and context awareautomation. However, there are many critical challenges that prevents the large scale adoption of the AI-IIoT systems. This paper presents an overview of AI-IIoT systems focusing on its architecture, applications, challenges and future directions.

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Applications of artificial intelligence of Things (AIoT): An overview

(2026-03) Vishnu, S; Rajagopal, V; Kirubaraj, AA; Sirimella, P; Abu-Mahfouz, Adnan MI; Ramson, SRJ

Conventional monitoring systems have been revolutionized with the advancements in capabilities of IoT and AI in terms of data collection and decision making respectively. This is coined as AIoT (Artificial Intelligence of Things). This paper conducts study on various applications of AIoT in diverse domains, underlining the developments in technology, challenges, and future possibilities. The focused application areas are industrial automation, crowd monitoring, disaster management, military, agriculture, waste management, health care, smart grid, and transportation. The detailed review is conducted in the paper depicting the role of AIoT in transforming conventional systems to autonomous and intelligent systems.