REGION OSTRAVA

These labs are called ‘Industry 4.0 & Automotive

Lab’ connecting segments of Industry 4.0,

additive manufacturing, autonomous mobility

and e-mobility, ‘Energy Lab’ forming the basis for

effective transformation of energy into carbon-free

technologies linked to the circular economy and

hydrogen economy development, and ‘Materials

& Environment Lab’ focused on the development

of materials and technologies for wastewater

treatment, reduction of waste and emissions and the

use of renewable energy sources.

We also have many partners in this effort, among the

most important of whom is the Moravian-Silesian

Innovation Center which will be putting the resulting

products to practical use, the University of Ostrava

and the Academy of Sciences, foreign partners

include, for example, the Fraunhofer Institute—

number one in applied research in Germany.

The Moravian-Silesian Region is planning to take

a step towards hydrogen in the future. What are

some of its uses that VŠB-TUO plans on exploring?

We have started to realize the CEETe project-Center

of Energetics and Environmental Technologies,

Explorer. The construction of a building, aimed

among other things at the research of hydrogen

technologies and alternative fuel sources, should

begin next year.

We plan to construct a refueling station for alternative

fuels; hydrogen, among others, will be included. We

have therefore definitely taken note of hydrogen as

a path that society is trending towards.

VŠB-TUO can lean on the Industrial council. What

important role does it play and what is its goal?

The university’s mission is to educate students so

that what they learn is applicable in the job market

in order to move society forward. The science and

research we do is also aimed at making the transfer

of technologies from universities to companies

successful and effective.

This is the reason why the Industrial council is occupied

by legal entities, in other words, companies that are

represented by specific people. These companies

were nominated by individual faculties. The goal is to

present what our university has to offer to companies

and receive feedback along with advice from them.

The new Underground Lab project, planning to

take advantage of the unused space at Staříč mine,

is truly a unique, world-scale idea. Can you give us

any details on your plans here?

This project aims to create laboratories underground

on the premises of the former Staříč mine. Excavating

a mine of this scale is a task that would cost billions

of crowns; why fill it back up then when the space

can be perfectly used for our purposes? The mine

would then become the only one that remained in

the region for over 250 years, even though its current

purpose would be science and research rather than

coal mining.

As for energetics, we are currently communicating

with the Scottish company Gravitricity, who hold the

patent for a gravity power station. Essentially, you can

picture it as a large multi-ton weight that is ideal for

use in combination with renewable energy sources

that produce sizable oscillation.

Furthermore, we are also partnering with companies

such as Ferrit and Huisman, which have an enormous

interest in using underground spaces. Like many

research organizations and universities.

The delinquiration of this project is that we will be able

to continue to educate students here in programmes

that are tied to the underground. For example, there

has recently been a lot of discussion about the

mining of lithium or gold, which is gathered deep

underground. The only university that still produces

mining experts is VŠB-TUO, at the Faculty of Mining

and Geology. Mining is not about coal, but the

extraction of resources, which can even be water.

Mr Ivan, thank you for the interview.

Text: Barbora Pěchová

Foto: archiv VŠB-TUO

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