NCC for MATCA has received prestigious Award of the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic

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The National Centre of Competence for MATCA, managed by the Institute of Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, has won in the category of Partnerships of the Awards of Technology Agency of the Czech Republic, which are used to award the best applied research projects with a high contribution to society. In less than four years of its existence, the centre has managed to gain a prestigious position in the field of applied research and the transfer of scientific results into everyday practice.

"I highly appreciate this award and I am especially pleased that we won the award in the category of Partnership. I consider fair partnership to be the pillar for the development of modern society, both on a personal and professional level. We would like to thank all the partners, who have contributed to the success of NCC for MATCA," said Alexandr Dejneka, head of the Division of Optics of the Institute of Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences and principal investigator of NCC for MATCA.

Additive, laser and plasma technologies are the main pillars on which the NCC for MATCA (Materials, Advanced Technologies, Coatings and their Applications) stands. They are linked together by one common denominator – the development of new materials. And it is these areas that the most successful of the 27 projects that have been implemented during the time of the centre's operation are from.

We have joined forces across scientific institutions and universities in order to be able to provide industry with the best results. A number of great ideas are being developed at Czech scientific institutions and we are helping to put them into practice," said Tomáš Jetmar, manager of the NCC for MATCA.

It is the cooperation of science and industry that is proving to be the key to moving Czech economy towards production with a higher added value and higher efficiency of work. This is also evidenced by the experience of the Institute of Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, which in the last year, for example, has managed to launch the construction of the new B4I application centre and thus has been included in the prestigious European network of digital innovation centres.

“We actively support the application of our scientific results into industrial practice at the Institute of Physics and we are very successful in this field. The results of our work are used by companies across fields, which proves that the ideas of our scientists have enormous potential to drive technological progress. The NCC for MATCA absolutely fulfils the objectives with which we founded it," said Michael Prouza, Director of the Institute of Physics.

The NCC for MATCA project engages 11 entities from the academic sphere and 9 private companies. Its initial phase implemented within the first program of national competence centres announced by the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic ends at the end of this year. The results of the second one will have been announced by the end of November and it will start in January 2023.

The NCC MATCA's most successful completed projects

Plasma gasification

Among the most significant achievements of the NCC for MATCA is a device for plasma gasification of biological waste, which in the future should very effectively solve the waste management in the University Hospital in Motol. However, the technology is also usable for other polymeric and plasma processable materials.

Coating

The unique system for coating long thin holes is another of the completed projects within the NCC for MATCA. It has the potential to replace conventional galvanic coating as it is significantly less toxic. No one else in the world has ever managed to apply coatings into such long thin holes with the same coating quality and resistance as the scientists working under the NCC for MATCA.

Biosensors and COVID-19

The NCC for MATCA scientists also made their presence felt during the COVID pandemic. They developed a unique biosensor that combines the speed of an antigen test with the PCR test accuracy. Now, in collaboration with a commercial partner they are developing a device based on it that can quickly and cheaply test large numbers of samples at once.

Laser shock peening

The unique Laser Shock Peening technology allows to process the surface of materials by laser to improve its various properties. In the case of the NCC for MATCA application, turbine blades and pumps are involved. They can then achieve better functionality and higher service life. This reduces maintenance costs and increases operation safety.

Additive technologies

Last but not least, the NCC for MATCA deals with 3D printing, both in terms of the complete production chain from topological product optimization, through prototyping to small-batch production, as well as the development of new materials and print parameters for print optimization in terms of time and financial efficiency.