IMMM SAS at the largest technological festival in Slovakia

From 26th to 28th April 2019, the IXPO Technology Festival took place in Tyršovo nábrežie in Bratislava, where the Slovak Academy of Sciences contributed with its program.

IXPO is the largest technology festival in Slovakia. It combines rich themes and amazing experiences for everyone interested in the future. The IXPO has brought to one place an exhibition of futuristic technologies, inspiring lectures, game world news, digital art and many much more.

The Institute of Materials and Machine Mechanics of Slovak Academy of Sciences, which was represented in the person of Martin Nosko, could not miss this exceptional event. In his contribution he discussed with a well-known Czech presenter Daniel Stach a new generation of solar collectors for medium-temperature applications, which are being developed at the Institute in cooperation with the company THERMO/SOLAR Žiar, Ltd. and with the Welding Research Institute. Since "I" in the title IXPO represents intelligence, inspiration and innovation, and the festival's motto was "Connecting People with Technology", the subject of discussion was innovation, using both affordable and recyclable material that is characterized by exceptional structural stability and preserves its mechanical properties even at long-term exposure at increased working temperatures. Why is this research important? Currently, conventional solar collectors with a working temperature of 80-100oC have a maximum efficiency of 5-10% and these collectors can only be used for water heating at households but not in industry where fossil fuel combustion is still being used.

“Since solar energy enables us to provide enough energy for industrial sectors, it is up to us how we can effectively use this energy for our benefit while contributing to environmental protection” M. Nosko added.