Visit of South African High Commissioner to Aberthaw marks strategic milestone in UK–South Africa Net-Zero Partnership
In July 2025 the teams from CCR Energy and Cardiff Capital Region (CCR) hosted a visit to the former Aberthaw power station in South Wales by the UK2070 Commission Taskforce and His Excellency Mr Jeremiah Nyamane Mamabolo, High Commissioner of South Africa to the United Kingdom.
The mission saw the Vice Chair of the UK2070 Taskforce Programme, Baroness Wilcox of Newport, and the Pro-Vice Chancellor of Teesside University join His Excellency and his team in exploratory discussions on the remediation taking place in a post-industrial site such as Aberthaw and what its eventual transformation will mean for clean energy provision and the economy of South Wales.
As a flagship component of the UK2070 Taskforce Programme, this post industrialisation collaboration links Teesside, South Wales and Komati in the Mpumalanga region of South Africa; the Aberthaw site exemplifies the transformation of legacy infrastructure into a model of clean energy innovation and regional regeneration.
The visit included site tours, stakeholder roundtables and forward-planning sessions on:
- The co-design of Virtual Net Zero Centres in South Wales, Teesside and Komati, South Africa
- Academic collaboration through the South African Presidential PhD Programme
- Ongoing engagement with the South African Presidential Climate Commission, CCR Energy, Cardiff Capital Region, Cardiff University, Teesside University, and South Africa’s Department of Science and Innovation
The visit reinforced the growing cooperation between UK regional leadership and South Africa on shared challenges including industrial decarbonisation, skills transition, and inclusive growth.