CEET Workshop brought a summary of successes and a few surprises

In addition to a review of the year-end, presentations of the scientific achievements of the individual CEET research groups were on the agenda, and a representative of the Fraunhofer Innovation Platform at the VSB-TUO (FIP-AI@VSB-TUO), Vladislav Kolarik from Fraunhofer ICT, also spoke.

"I see this year as very successful. The focus of CEET accurately describes the need of society, together we are creating the future of energy and if anyone is expected to help in decarbonisation, it is CEET. Clearly in the Czech Republic and I believe in the near future also on a European scale," said CEET Director Stanislav Mišák at the beginning of the meeting.

CEET currently employs 254 people, 41 percent of whom are women, which is a very favourable ratio and above average in the scale of technical fields. This year's achievements of the research staff include, among others, 188 publications according to the Web of Science database, which amounts to 1.7 publications per employee. The research results on materials for energy and environmental technologies, which have reached the top scientific journals, were presented by Aristeidis Bakandritsos from the Nanotechnology Centre (CNT). Ján Vereš from the Energy Research Centre focused on the utilization of secondary raw materials and alternative energy sources for hydrogen technologies.

International projects are no longer a weak point

"If in the past our weakness was the low involvement in international projects, this year the situation has changed significantly. I am proud of the fact that we have been awarded major projects with an international scope, including Horizon2020 projects. As an example, I can mention the EBEAM project - Electron Beam Emergent Additive Manufacturing with financial support from the prestigious ERA Chairs Horizon Europe programme under the leadership of Mark H. Rümmeli," Mišák explained another of the successes.

The renowned materials scientist revealed that he came to Ostrava on the basis of previous good cooperation with local scientists. "So, when the director of the Institute of Environmental Technology suggested some time ago that we could submit a project to this prestigious programme, I agreed," explained Rümmeli, who will build an international research team at VSB-TUO that will use electron beams to create new materials with precise structures down to the atomic level.

Vladislav Kolarik from Fraunhofer ICT called for further international cooperation in his speech. He presented both the functioning of Fraunhofer - the largest organization in the field of applied research and development in Europe - and the activities of the Fraunhofer Innovation Platform at the VSB-TUO, which is open to further cooperation.

"I really like the topics that the scientists at CEET are working on, as they are very important and topical. If we want to achieve sustainability and protect the environment, the most effective way is to offer people technologies that will be useful to them. That is the task of us scientists, that is why I am committed to science," said Kolarik.

CEET participates in cutting-edge national projects

Moreover, CEET can boast other project achievements. These include, for example, the MATUR project from the Jan Amos Komenský Operational Programme, in which CNT scientists will participate, the completion of the construction and launch of the Centre for Energy and Environmental Technologies - explorer (CEETe), the facilities of which were presented at the workshop by the Director of the ENET Centre, Lukáš Prokop, or the kick-off of the National Centre for Energy II project.

The REFRESH project from the Operational Programme Just Transition, in which CEET is also to play a significant role, is in the final stage of approval. "REFRESH is the flagship of the Moravian-Silesian Region's transformation strategy and gives us great opportunities to create excellent teams and prepare other international projects. Based on a series of discussions with partners from other universities, partners from industry, state and public spheres, we have developed a clear strategy and we have great potential to move forward in science and research and address the social challenges that we are about to face," Mišák is convinced.