Proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC) not only offer more efficient electrical energy conversion, relative to on-ground/backup turbines but generate by-products useful in aircraft such as heat for ice prevention, deoxygenated air for fire retardation and drinkable water for use on-board. Consequently, several projects (e.g. DLR-H2 Antares and RAPID2000) have successfully tested PEMFC-powered auxiliary unit (APU) for manned/unmanned aircraft. Despite the progress from flying PEMFC-powered small aircraft with 20 kW power output as high as 1 000 m at 100 km/h to 33 kW at 2 558 m, 176 km/h [1, 2, 3], durability and reliability remain key challenges. This review reports on the inadequate understanding of behaviour of PEMFC under aeronautic conditions and the lack of predictive methods conducive for aircraft that provide real-time information on the State of Health of PEMFCs.Highlights: The main research findings are: –To minimize performance loss due to high altitude and inclination by adjusting cathode stoichiometric ratio. –To improve quality of oxygen-depleted air by controlling operating temperature and stoichiometric ratio. –Need to devise real time prediction methods conducive for determining PEMFC SoH in aircraft.

The deployment of proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) for aeronautic applications is a value-added energy supply alternative that not only generates useful byproducts (oxygen-depleted air, water and heat) but addresses sensitive issues such as improving health conditions of airport personnel (silent operation minimizes noise) and decreasing greenhouse gas emission (in situ zero emissions). However, the PEMFC is yet to be industrialized due to its fast degrading components. The contribution of the several start-ups and shutdowns (a PEMFC undergoes when operated in aircraft) to the degradation is not well-understood. Hence, this study seeks to explore the effects of start-up/shutdown (SU/SD) cycling on a PEMFC’s lifetime. The SU/SD cycling is incorporated with heating to 60 °C and cooling to room temperature to mimic real-life temperature changes encountered in an aircraft. The tested membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs) were characterised for performance and evolution of its components to examine the extent and nature of degradation. More than two-thirds loss of electrochemically active surface area (ECSA) of catalyst, Pt particle growth (4.71–6.41 nm) associated with Ostwald ripening and formation of PtO from adsorption of OH⁻ by Pt–M surface were identified to be causes of the observed voltage decay at 0.196 mV h⁻¹ rate. Hence, it is concluded that SU/SD cycling mostly affects the catalytic component of PEMFC in the aeronautic environment.

Hydrogen is a crucial energy carrier for the Clean Energy Sustainable Development Goals and the just transition to low/zero-carbon energy. As a top CO₂-emitting country, hydrogen (especially green hydrogen) production in South Africa has gained momentum due to the availability of resources, such as solar energy, land, wind energy, platinum group metals (as catalysts for electrolysers), and water. However, the demand for green hydrogen in South Africa is insignificant, which implies that the majority of the production must be exported. Despite the positive developments, there are unclear matters, such as dependence on the national electricity grid for green hydrogen production and the cost of transporting it to Asian and European markets. Hence, this study aims to explore opportunities for economic expansion for sustainable production, transportation, storage, and utilisation of green hydrogen produced in South Africa. This paper uses a thematic literature review methodology. The key findings are that the available renewable energy sources, incentivizing the green economy, carbon taxation, and increasing the demand for green hydrogen in South Africa and Africa could decrease the cost of hydrogen from 3.54 to 1.40 €/kgH₂ and thus stimulate its production, usage, and export. The appeal of green hydrogen lies in diversifying products to green hydrogen as an energy carrier, clean electricity, synthetic fuels, green ammonia and methanol, green fertilizers, and green steel production with the principal purpose of significant energy decarbonisation and economic and foreign earnings. These findings are expected to drive the African hydrogen revolution in agreement with the AU 2063 agenda.

Entrepreneurship education affords people with skills that display the characteristics of risk-taking, being involved in making informed decisions, creativity and innovation. Entrepreneurship education can provide teaching approaches to changing problems into business opportunities to assist the university community in addressing graduate employability. In addition, it can provide post-COVID-19 pandemic solutions to their start-ups or existing businesses. The paper explores the role of entrepreneurship education in Higher Education Institutions by discussing the effective and sustainable teaching methods that can be used in entrepreneurship teaching, employing a qualitative thematic review methodology. The entrepreneurship ecosystem can be key when higher education institutions are engaged in the transformation process of offering entrepreneurship education to their community. This paper explores the following themes: entrepreneurial education needs in entrepreneurial institutions, stakeholders involved in the provision of entrepreneurship education, and a sustainable business model as a product of entrepreneurship education. The present paper recommends that universities adopt a participatory approach to teaching and learning entrepreneurship as this can play a crucial role in building their structures to be economically active. Furthermore, it addresses graduate unemployment; provides recovery strategies to reboot businesses in communities, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic; and how to position themselves as entrepreneurial institutions. Keywords: Entrepreneurship education, Sustainability, Transformation, Graduate unemployment