Talks with the Ministers on the establishment of the National Centre for Research and Implementation of Renewable Energy Sources
On December 8th , 2022, the Rector of the Silesian University of Technology, prof. Arkadiusz Mężyk, together with the Vice-Rector for Cooperation with the Socio-Economic Environment prof. Janusz Kotowicz attended a meeting at the headquarters of the Ministry of Education and Science.
The talks were attended by: Deputy Minister of Education and Science Wojciech Murdzek, Government Plenipotentiary for the reform of the functioning of research institutes, Deputy Minister Ireneusz Zyska - Government Plenipotentiary for Renewable Energy Sources, Deputy Minister of Funds and Regional Policy Jacek Żalek, Director of the National Centre for Research and Development Paweł Kuch and representatives of research institutes and universities.
The visit was related to the continuation of work on the creation of the National Centre for Research and Implementation of Renewable Energy Sources (National Centre RES). To this end, in early December of this year the Silesian University of Technology, together with the Consortium Leader - the Institute of Fluid-Flow Machinery of the Polish Academy of Sciences, the AGH University of Science and Technology, the Institute of Energy in Warsaw and the University of Warmia and Mazury established a consortium that aims to meet the energy transformation in our country.
The essence of the proposed Centre is to use the concept of the so-called Living Lab, i.e. the construction not only of research stands in the laboratories of universities and institutes, but above all the construction of demonstrators in the field, i.e. in communes and counties. This means a live interaction of the new technologies used on the one hand, and the results of operational and implementation tests on the other hand, with the simultaneous participation of the interested local government entity and industry.
The implementation of this task, starting from talks with potential partners of the local government as well as developing a concept for designing and building a demonstrator for the production and use of hydrogen for apartment blocks, single-family/multi-family buildings, or small housing estates on the part of the Silesian University of Technology, was undertaken by Vice-Rector Prof. Janusz Kotowicz and his team. The Vice-Rector acquired partners from the Rybnik and Gliwice counties. Talks are also underway to extend the implementation of this concept to other cities in our region.
The scientific side presented the need to finance the research of the planned demonstrators and the development of technology. The need to formulate projects that can be financed, among others, was emphasized by the National Centre for Research and Development. Attention was drawn to the possibility of consolidating scientific communities to implement these projects.
The government presented its ideas in this regard. Not all voices from this side coincided with the scientists' proposals. The talks will continue.
