Meeting of the National Competence Centre Consortium Took Place in Zlín
15. November 2024From 31 October to 1 November 2024, a workshop and meeting of the partners of the National Centre of Competence in Polymer Materials and Technologies for the 21st Century (PolyEnvi21) took place in Zlín. During the workshop, individual project investigators presented their sub-projects in terms of solutions developed for industrial end-use applications.
The interim results of the sub-projects were presented and discussed at a regular meeting of the project consortium representatives. This centre, coordinated by Tomas Bata University in Zlín, aims to strengthen cooperation between academia and industry in order to accelerate the development and application of new environmentally friendly polymer materials and technologies.
The sub-topics currently being addressed within PolyEnvi21 cover a wide range of issues relevant to the implementation of circular economy principles in the plastics industry. “In particular, we are implementing projects aimed at improving the efficiency of automated sorting of plastic waste for subsequent mechanical, chemical and biological recycling. In addition, technologies are being developed in cooperation with industrial partners to maximise the usefulness of waste that would normally end up in landfills or incinerators,” satechnologická agenys Prof. Vladimír Sedlařík, Director of the Centre. Related to this is the technology to remove unwanted substances that make recycling difficult. New material systems are also being developed, for example to produce automotive components that do not emit hazardous pollutants into the air, to produce materials based on renewable raw materials or to develop products for more efficient use of agrochemicals.
The National Centre of Competence project is one of the most effective incentive tools for efficient industrial research and experimental development. The National Centre of Competence in Polymer Materials and Technologies for the 21st Century (PolyEnvi21) focuses on the development of new polymer systems that take into account the objectives of sustainable development, practical applicability and economic competitiveness. PolyEnvi21’s core competence is the mechanical, chemical and biological recycling of polymeric materials and related processes. Special attention is paid to the comprehensive concept of solutions developed to meet the principles of the circular economy.
The project National Centre of Competence in Polymer Materials and Technologies for the 21st Century is funded by the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic (Project No. TN02000051). The implementation of the project started on 1 January 2023 and will last until 31 December 2028.