ENERGY INDUSTRY

OBJECTIVES AND AIMS OF CZECH ENERGY INDUSTRY

THE SMART CITIES PROJECT COVERS A BROAD TERRITORY TOWNS AND MUNICIPALITIES FOCUSING ON SUSTAINABLE ENERGY MANAGEMENT AMBITIONS OF THE RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES DEVELOPMENT PLAN

ENERGY INDUSTRY 2 2019

61 st InternatIonal engIneerIng FaIr

7 – 11 10 2019 brno cz

CZECH BUSINESS AND TRADE

Czech Business and Trade – With a Tradition of 90 Years Economic Magazine is Designed for Foreign Partners, Interested in Cooperation with the Czech Republic Issued by PP AGENCY s.r.o. in cooperation with n Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic n Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic n Ministry of Regional Development of the Czech Republic n Confederation of Industry of the Czech Republic n Confederation of Employers‘ and Entrepreneurs‘ Associations of the Czech Republic n Czech Chamber of Commerce n CzechTrade

n INTRODUCTION

Question of the Month for Richard Brabec, Minister of the Environment of the Czech Republic 6

n ENERGY

Objectives and Aims of Czech Energy Industry Batteries Are Becoming Increasingly Popular with Both Households and Industry

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PARTNER OF THE MAGAZINE: ICC Czech Republic EDITORIAL BOARD: Vladimír Bärtl, Jiří Hansl, Marcela Havlová, Jaromír Kohlíček, Dagmar Kuchtová, Martin Lukáš, Karel Machotka, Marie Pavlů, Tomáš Seidl, Miroslav Somol, Jarmila Škvrnová, Martin Tlapa, Jan Wiesner MANAGING EDITOR: Pavla Podskalská

n PR

GEOtest: More Than 50 Years in Business Czech Companies Participate in the JHR Project Doosan Škoda Power Is Still Doing Well „Optical cables from Děčín connect the whole world. And there will be many more“

5 11 19 38

EDITOR: Jana Pike TRANSLATION: Vlasta Benešová PROOFREADING: Ivana Kadlecová, Pearl Harris GRAPHIC DESIGN: Stanislava Podaná

n SMART CITIES

Towns and Municipalities Focusing on Sustainable Energy Management Original BRENS EUROPE Rail Sound Absorbers The Smart Cities Project Covers a Broad Territory STARMON: Innovative Public Transport Technologies Smart Cities – Sustainable Mobility, IT, and Effective Territorial Management

20 22 24 27 28

COVER PHOTO: www.bigstockphoto.com DEADLINE: 15/7/2019 © PP Agency ADDRESS: Myslíkova 25, 110 00 Praha 1 Czech Republic e-mail: journal@ppagency.cz www.ppagency.cz, www.doingbusiness.cz Press run: 10 000 copies. It is not allowed to reproduce any part of the contents of this journal without prior consent from the Editor.

Attitudes expressed by the authors of articles carried by CBT need not necessarily be consistent with the standpoint of the Publisher.

MK ČR E 6379, ISSN 1211-2208 „Podávání novinových zásilek povoleno Českou poštou, s. p., odštěpný závod Přeprava, č. j. 3468/95, ze dne 24/10/1995“

n CZECH TOP Fenix Group Is Pushing for Connection to the Smart Grid System

n RENEWABLE ENERGY

Ambitions of the Renewable Energy Sources Development Plan in the Czech Republic

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n PRESENTATION OF FIRMS

ABF, a.s.; BRENS EUROPE, a.s.; DEL a.s.; Doosan Škoda Power s.r.o.; ELKOPLAST CZ, s.r.o.; EPRONA, a.s.; FENIX Trading, s. r. o.; GEOtest, a.s.; KABELOVNA Děčín Podmokly, s.r.o.; Lady Sol, s.r.o.; STARMON s.r.o.; Veletrhy Brno, a.s.

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geotest.cz | 4

CZECH BUSINESS AND TRADE

GEOtest: More Than 50 Years in Business In 2018, GEOtest celebrated 50th anniversary of its foundation. The Company's success stems primarily from high-quality human and professional background. The main competitive advantage of the Company is the fact that thanks to great efforts, even in difficult times, GEOtest managed to maintain a multidisciplinary and wide range of services. Moreover, the Company was able to extend these services according to the current market needs. GEOtest offers services to clients through its companies in the Czech Republic, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mongolia, Romania, and Slovakia.

Since 2017, GEOtest has been a member of the INOGEN global environmental alliance.

Headquartered in the United States, this prestigious international alliance associates more than 200 major environmental companies worldwide.

The substance of GEOtest has always lain in geological services, especially engineering-geological and geotechnical surveys for road construction and ecological services, which have always been dominated by remediation of so-called old environmental loads. At the beginning of the new millennium, the Company began to expand beyond the territory of the Czech Republic.

Therefore, it was necessary to adapt GEOtest's services to the needs of the global market.

The Company thus began to provide a wide range of services in the field of sustainable development, i.e. services related to Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). As for this type of service, the GEOtest´s clients are prestigious international institutions, such as the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the European Commission (EuropeAid), the World Bank (WB), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the European Investment Bank (EIB), and development programmes such as the Czech

Development Cooperation (CZECHAID), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA), the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) and other.

nENERGY AND RENEWABLE

RESOURCES

Services in the field of energy, and in particular, renewable energy, are related to SDG No. 7, Affordable and Clean Energy.

GEOtest has participated in a number of projects involving the supply of renewable energy technologies such as biomass boilers and solar collectors. However, the main focuses of the Company are geothermal and water renewable energy sources. For both of these types of renewable resources, GEOtest conducts a multidisciplinary survey, offering geological, hydrogeological, geophysical, drilling, laboratory, and other services. The Company has always been seeking to obtain a comprehensive picture of potentially suitable sites. This year, the Company is implementing a major contract in Bosnia and Herzegovina, performing a detailed survey of geothermal energy sources in the City of Cazin. Based on its results, GEOtest will be tasked with developing scenarios for the development of this renewable energy source for the needs of spa tourism, agriculture, and heating. From the point of view of water renewable energy sources, the Company is mainly providing surveys, feasibility studies, environmental impact studies, and other tasks for construction of dams. A major challenge was, for example, the project in northern Iraq, where GEOtest successfully carried out a feasibility study and design project for the Bawanur Dam. Services provided for multinational energy companies such as ČEZ and E.O.N. are located on the energy and environment sectors boundary. In the first case this concerns supervision of boreholes for monitoring the quality of groundwater

at the Dukovany nuclear power plant and in the second case comprehensive consultancies for the environmentally conscious operation of individual power plant facilities

nENVIRONMENT In the environmental field, the GEOtest´s flagship is the environmental remediation.

The main activity in this area is the removal of groundwater and rock environment contamination. Recent projects include removal of oil spill contamination from groundwater in the Romanian city of Oradea for OMV Petrom as well as survey and project development for an oil-contaminated area in Novi Sad, Serbia for Gazprom Neft. The remediation work for the car manufacturer ŠKODA, for which GEOtest provides removal of old environmental loads at the factory premises, is a long-term contract.

GEOtest's experts have a lot of experience in Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA).

Environmental, Health & Safety (EHS) audits for multinational corporations such as IBM, Amazon, Apple, Škoda and many others, also play an important role in providing environmental services.

Today's GEOtest is a complex company providing a wide range of services across a number of disciplines. The services provided are always tailored to customer needs. Thanks to the ever-expanding range of quality services, the Company has been able to adapt to the needs of the modern market and has successfully established itself in the highly competitive environment for more than 50 years.

Damir Kasum and Jan Hillermann GEOtest, a.s.

Šmahova 1244/112, 627 00 Brno, Czech Republic Phone: +420 548 125 496 e-mail: hillermann@geotest.cz www.geotest.cz 5 |

INTRODUCTION

Question of the Month for Richard Brabec, Minister of the Environment of the Czech Republic

The coal exploitation era is nearing its end. In your opinion, the way to the future is the combination of nuclear energy and renewable energy sources (RES).

The problem, however, is that, according to the Energy Regulation Office (ERU), energy generation from these sources is stagnant. Which renewable sources do you think will be playing the main role in future and what, in your opinion, will be the most likely future energy mix?

The Czech Republic has a still untapped potential in individual renewable energy source production, especially as regards roof photovoltaics and heat pumps. Already now we support both these systems under our current very successful programmes, Boiler Subsidies and Green Light to Energy Saving. In view of the falling prices of wind power technologies, electricity production from wind power stations is to be expected to grow. On the other hand, the steadily growing manifestations of climate change can be expected to reduce the use of hydroelectric power plants. In addition, to meet the required greenhouse gas emissions’ reduction targets by the year 2050, nearly complete decarbonisation of the power industry will be needed with the simultaneous radical increase in the use of electricity in transport, heating and cooling. Therefore, the essential role in Czech power engineering is expected | 6

You are preparing the establishment of a Coal Commission, whose mission will be to prepare the Czech Republic for transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources and nuclear energy. What are the concrete plans on this subject?

The aim of the Coal Commission we are setting up together with the Minister of Industry and Trade, Karel Havlíček, is to prepare and evaluate scenarios leading to diversion from coal in the Czech Republic.

Besides the timetable, we´ll have to define a set of instruments to support the diversion and quantify the costs and effects this change will have on employment, electricity and heat consumption, and the costs incurred by compensatory measures including the minimisation of the risks involved. The Commission will publish its first conclusions within a year.

The Czech Republic will be in a position to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by at least 45 percent by the year 2030 and by 80 percent in 2050. It is ahead in the fulfilment of the EU climate-energy package and the Paris Agreement targets. Can you give us some details?

As regards greenhouse gas emissions’ reduction, in 2017 the government, at my proposal, adopted a draft document, Climate Protection Policy in the Czech Republic. Its core idea is transition to a low-emissions economy, which must be applied in all areas, not only in industry. In addition to the 2020 and 2030 targets, the climate protection targets policy based on the EU climate-energy package and the Paris Agreement also comprises, for the first time, a long-term indicative target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80 per cent by 2050, in comparison with 1990. As before, the key emissions’ reduction measure will be the reformed EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS), which provides for

a greenhouse gas emissions’ reduction by 6 million more tonnes of CO2 equivalent by 2030. The continuing support of measures to reduce the energy intensiveness of industry and buildings is expected to lead to an additional 3.5 million tonne emissions’ reduction. In industry, the emissions’ reduction programme will be supported by the strict application of emission limits and the use of the best available technologies, which are planned to reduce emissions by an approximately 2.7 million tonne CO2 equivalent by 2030. Another measure is the regulation of fluorinated greenhouse gases, which is expected to lead to an additional two-million tonne emissions’ reduction. In transport, a significant emissions’ reduction is to be achieved by introducing new emission limits for cars and trucks which, in the final analysis, should lead to an emissions’ reduction by more than 1.5 million tons per year starting in 2030.

Which are the three most important priorities of your Ministry for the immediate future?

The highest priority is definitely the adaptation of the Czech Republic to climate change. We are facing an unprecedently long spell of dry weather with numerous communities, especially the smaller ones, having problems with drinking water supply, where surface water and ground water reserves are drying out and forests are dying. The water supply welfare in this country is coming to an end. Therefore, we must do everything possible to retain rainwater and make better use of it. These are tasks we have been working on for several years, and we have managed to complete thousands of projects.

Besides tasks linked with climate change adaptation, we are also concerned with wastewater and will soon propose to the government new bills concerning wastes.

This will bring the Czech Republic closer to the circular economy system, where waste becomes a raw material. The objective of the new waste legislation is diversion from landfilling and increasing waste recycling.

Another great subject for us is preparation for the new EU Environment Operational Programme for 2021-2027 and the Modernisation Fund in the framework of the new EU Emissions Trading System.

Photo: Ministry of the Environment of the Czech Republic archives, freeimages.com

to be played by nuclear power and renewable energy sources, in combination with energy accumulation for balancing out the differences between production and consumption. In addition, the use of electricity from emission-free sources is essential for the development of electromobility, ensuring the zero-emission operation of cars and trucks.

CZECH BUSINESS AND TRADE

Objectives and Aims of Czech Energy Industry The energy industry is one of the most important sectors in the Czech Republic.

Traditionally, we are very strong in the area of engineering and the manufacture of power generating facilities, which the industry can build and operate efficiently, including nuclear power sources.

The Czech Republic is self-sufficient in electricity production, based predominantly on domestic brown coal deposits and nuclear power sources. On the other hand, natural gas and oil are imported from politically unstable countries, which may endanger safe and reliable supplies in future. The adequate capacity of national and international transmission facilities creates prerequisites for international trade in electricity. The energy sector is a stable branch in the Czech Republic, which attracts foreign investors and creates good prerequisites for the further development of Czech industry.

Since the beginning of the millennium, the Czech energy sector has undergone a number of important changes. As the volume of electricity generated from coal has declined, while the importance of other sources has increased, the energy mix, too, underwent a change, in addition to changes that occurred in the electricity and natural gas markets following their liberalisation.

Several historic records were broken in 2018, according to the Energy Regulation Office (ERO). In that year, the Czech Republic recorded the highest volume of electricity production, as well as of its consumption. The data on the development of electricity production and its consumption in the Czech Republic shown by statistics are definitely not uninteresting. Let´s start with electricity production. As the statistics reveal, electricity production increased by 1.1 per cent from 87.03 TWh to the present 88.0 TWh. Nuclear power stations generated 34 per cent of this volume and different

forms of steam power stations (burning biomass, black/brown coal,…) 51.2 per cent.

These energy sources still produce the largest proportion of the total power output.

Steam-gas (SGPP) and gas and combustion (GCPP) power plants taken together generate 8.4 per cent of electricity. Placed second are photovoltaics at 2.65 per cent, followed by hydroelectric power plants at just 1.85 per cent, pump-storage plants 1.2 per cent, and wind power plants a mere 0.7 per cent.

These figures mean that the percentage of purer nuclear energy increased (from 32.6 per cent), while the percentage of electricity generated by steam power plants declined slightly (from 52.2 per cent). Interesting figures, showing the plants´ own consumption, are that: to produce 88 TWh of electricity, power plants consumed 6.1 TWh of self-produced electricity. Therefore, the net electricity production in 2018 amounted to 81.9 TWh. Losses were at the level of 4.27 TWh, which is about 5.2 per cent. Some three-quarters of these were losses in the distribution system and one-quarter in the transmission system. An interesting fact is that last year the Czech Republic imported 11.4 TWh of electricity and exported nearly 25.1 TWh (two years ago, 14.6 TWh and 27.9 TWh, respectively). Czech power plants produce much more energy, specifically 13.9 TWh, than the country can consume. This amount would be sufficient to charge some 4-5 million electric cars. The resulting net consumption was 61.0 TWh, which is 0.55 per cent more than last year (60.7 TWh). This year´s gross consumption

was 73.9 TWh. As a matter of interest, let us mention that electricity consumption has been growing very slowly over the past few years. For example, in comparison with 2008, the net and gross consumption values have increased by a mere 2.8 per cent and 2.6 per cent, respectively.

nFROM COAL TO NUCLEAR

ENERGY, GAS AND RES

The Czech power industry is still dominated by coal resources. Traditionally, with the largest proportion of energy being generated by brown coal-powered power stations, the second largest electric power source in terms of output in the Czech Republic are the Temelín and Dukovany nuclear power stations.

Temelín is the largest electricity manufacturer in the Czech Republic, whose production covers one-fifth of domestic consumption. ČEZ launched the power plant in December 2000. Last year, Temelín generated 15.66 terawatthours of electricity.

It was the second largest volume of electricity produced, 0.8 TWh less than in 2017.

This decline was caused by two planned interruptions of production, which taken together lasted 121 days. The output of the Dukovany power plant (the first nuclear power plant to have been built in the country) last year rose by one-fifth, to 14.25 TWh of electricity. The Dukovany and Temelín nuclear power plants last year supplied nearly 30 TWh of electricity to the transmission grid, 0.2 TWh more than in 2017. The increase was due to the massive year-onyear higher production in Dukovany, with 7 |

ENERGY

nPHOTOVOLTAIC BOOM

Temelín, too, supplying more energy to the transmission grid than planned. In addition, more energy was obtained as a result of the higher energy efficiency of the equipment in the non-nuclear part of the plant, while the output of the reactor did not increase, but better use was made of the existing equipment. Temelín recorded its highest output, of 16.48 TWh, in 2017, which, in addition, was an exceptional year, when only one shutdown took place, while the routine is two shutdowns per year. Temelín takes credit for the generation of a high proportion of emission-free production within the ČEZ Group, which means decreased air pollution, equalling 12 million tonnes of carbon dioxide.

nOPENING UP

OF ELECTRICITY AND NATURAL GAS MARKETS

Until recently, electricity and natural gas consumers could not choose their supplier. A change occurred in 2002, when the electricity market started opening up. The first group to be allowed to change their supplier was large consumers purchasing electricity in the order of dozens and later units of GWh per annum. Czech households had this possibility opened up only at the beginning of 2006. The turn for natural gas consumers came three years later, on 1 January 2005, when large consumers with an annual consumption of more than 15 million cu.m could choose their supplier.

In the second phase, from 1 January 2006 on, the market opened up to all other consumers excluding households, which had to wait until 1 January 2007. This practical| 8

In support of the EU Renewable Energy Policy, the Czech Republic pledged to cover 13 per cent of its final gross energy consumption with renewable energy sources by 2020. As renewable energy production is not cost-effective for the time being, a subsidy system had to be introduced.

However, the system was designed inadequately for photovoltaic power stations and its application led to an enormous expansion of solar power stations. The solar boom in the Czech Republic was triggered in 2008 by the fixing of excessively high purchase prices of electricity generated by photovoltaic power stations and the impossibility of their meaningful reduction in the following years, which would necessarily have led to cost reduction.

Nevertheless, Czech companies which have survived the failure of domestic photovoltaics have been doing well in foreign markets. For example, in 2018 Photon Energy launched the installation of eight photovoltaic plants with an overall capacity of 5.5 MWp in Tiszakécske, Hungary, 86 km south-east of the capital of Budapest. In continuation of the pilot installation of our first power plant built in the Hungarian town of Fertöd earlier this year, the beginning of the construction of the first one in a series of new power plants marks another milestone on the road of the Group to build in Hungary photovoltaic power plants with a capacity of 50 MWp for long-time ownership by 2020. This company with Czech roots has built photovoltaic power plants with a capacity of more than 50 MWp in Europe and Australia. Another Czech manufacturer, Solek Group, is expanding successfully in other countries. For example, in 2018 it integrated its third photovoltaic plant into the grid in Chile. The Santa Laura project with an installed output of 3 MWp is located in the Valparaiso region near Cabido. Thanks to the success of its pilot projects, the company gained a contract for dozens of more power plants with an aggregate installed

output of up to 118 MW from the Canadian CarbonFree Company. In the next two years, Solek Group is planning to build solar parks in Chile with a capacity of up to 250 MW and to become the largest local investor in the small photovoltaic power plant segment.

Since its founding in 2010, Solek Group has completed more than a dozen projects in the photovoltaic power plant segment (the Czech Republic, the Slovak Republic, Romania, and Chile) with an overall installed output of more than 30 MW, and its plan is to build more plants with an output of up to 250 MW. In June 2018, in order to strengthen its position, the Group purchased and included in its portfolio another Czech company, PV POWER, one of the leading providers of technical services (development, construction, and follow-up operation) of photovoltaic power plants.

nTERMINATION OF URANIUM

MINING IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC

Uranium mining has a long history on the territory of the present-day Czech Republic, going back to the 16th century. Its greatest boom, however, came in the period after the Second World War, with the development of the nuclear energy industry and especially with the massive global nuclear arms production, prompting world demand for uranium. During the second half of the 20th century, Czechoslovakia became a uranium powerhouse. The importance of Czech uranium is shown by the fact that, despite its small size, this country ranked among the world´s ten largest uranium producers. By 2007, more than 110 000 tonness of uranium were extracted from Bohemia´s mines.

Until the end of 2016, the Czech Republic was the only country in Central Europe extracting uranium. The last uranium mine in the Czech Republic to terminate commercial extraction of the precious mineral was the Rožná Mine.

nENERGY ENGINEERING Czech energy engineering is currently showing a slowdown, caused primarily by low electricity prices, which in turn led to a halt in new power plant construction. The herald of a brighter morrow is seen in the rapid development of know-how and extensive production capacity, traditions, and a good name worldwide. Especially strong instances of this can be found in the East

Photo: www.shutterstock.com

ly consummated the market liberalisation process. Electricity and gas end users, however, began to use their right to change their suppliers more widely only in the years 2009 and 2010, when the number of consumers changing their suppliers of both commodities exceeded the 100 000 mark.

CZECH BUSINESS AND TRADE

European countries, the former Soviet Union, and in the Middle East, where Czech companies were successful suppliers in the past. A solution is to offer new products and to establish a footing in new markets.

One of the big firms holding a prominent position in this field is the Vítkovice Machinery Group, comprising 30 firms concerned with the preparation of large investment projects.

Another important player is Doosan Škoda Power, s.r.o., a member of Doosan Heavy Industries, based in Plzeň, with a century-long tradition in turbine manufacture.

The company also manufactures turbo generators, heat exchangers and engine rooms, using their own development and product testing. Also well known is Modřany Power, a.s., an important manufacturer of piping systems for the energy industry, which are exported to some 40 countries worldwide. It also supplies parts for the gas industry, petrochemistry, and construction.

The following are some examples of its successful projects: Cramlington, co-generation biomass power plant in Northumberland, North Anglia; prefabrication of the piping system for Red Dragon 375 MW thermal power plant in Chile, Škoda Praha, Sigma Group, a.s., Mpower Engineering, a.s., G-Team a.s., Ekol s.r.o., Enkom a.s., and Mavel a.s. in the Czech Republic.

Key Actors in Electricity and Gas Markets in the Czech Republic The most significant player in the Czech market is the ČEZ Group, currently figuring among the ten most important players in the European market. ČEZ is a vertically integrated company, operating in the area of coal mining, conventional and renewable energy sources production, trading, electricity and gas sales, electricity distribution, energy services and telecommunications. The ČEZ Group has the capacity to flexibly react to changes in the energy sector which, according to EBITDA, ranks it alongside the best energy companies in Europe.

In the first quarter of 2019, the company´s net profit increased by 14 per cent year on year, to CZK 8.3 billion, and its revenue rose by 12 per cent, to CZK 51.8 billion. The main factors which helped the company to increase its profit were

nENERGY STABILITY

IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC AND ATTRACTIVENESS FOR FOREIGN INVESTORS

From the foreign investors' point of view, the Czech Republic is very attractive as regards the energy sector, both concerning legislation and future development. More investment can be expected to go into production facilities, cross-border installations, and protection against electricity spilling across the border, especially from Germany, investment in the infrastructure in the area of distribution, and the completion of the backbone gas pipeline running from north to south. The parameters of the updated State Energy Concept and the draft to regulate the pipeline system create good conditions for ensuring a reasonable payback period for the capital invested.

nDYNAMIC RESEARCH PROJECTS

IN POWER ENGINEERING

The Czech power engineering industry does not entail the mere operation of power stations, coal mining, and photovoltaics.

In addition to all of these, the Czech Republic has a number of important programmes and research projects it can be proud of. Řež Research Centre: the construction of the SUSEN infrastructure project has been completed and research is continuing. The increasing electricity prices and higher electricity production. ČEZ is planning to pay out CZK 12.9 billion in dividends for last year, in comparison with CZK 17.8 billion one year before.

The second most important actor in the Czech market is Innogy Energie (formally the RWE Group), which is concerned with gas transmission, distribution and sales, and energy services. Other important players in the Czech market include the E.ON Group, selling and distributing electricity and gas and providing energy services. The Group's portfolio also comprises smaller manufacturing facilities.

Another company with a similar structure is Pražská energetika, operating on the territory of the capital city of Prague, which also invests in renewable energy sources outside its own distribution area.

The Veolia Energie Group in the CR, too, is one of the largest producers and suppliers

extensive research base for nuclear technologies in Řež near Prague and in Plzeň is already in operation. The SUSEN workplace in Plzeň focuses on the research of nuclear fusion, materials, diagnostics, and testing for the purposes of the power industry. In Plzeň, researchers will be testing panels for direct contact with plasmas at temperatures as high as a million degrees. The reactor is currently being built in France. The electron gun nicknamed “Helcza” is globally unique.

Among other assignments it will be used, for example, for testing turbine blades, boiler pipes, and thermal shields for spaceship return modules. Another device installed in the experimental hall is the model of a part of the ITER international fusion reactor scale 1:1. Scientists will use it to develop the processes for repairing, welding, cutting, and testing special tools, including robots, which technicians will optimise. Their experience will be used by ITER specialists in Cadarache, France, where an experimental fusion reactor is being built. Another important device is a helium experimental loop, used in the development of the high temperature helium-cooled Allegro reactor.

An important part of the SUSEN project in Plzeň are the non-destructive defectoscopy laboratories. The material research laboratories verify the firmness, resistance, and service life of metals and welds. of heating, cooling, electricity, and other energy commodities. At the same time, it is a European leader in providing energy services for cities, villages and their inhabitants, healthcare facilities, schools, industrial enterprises, public institutions, and clients in the tertiary sector. Bohemia Energy controls about 3 per cent of the electricity and natural gas markets and is still growing thanks to the acquisition of its weaker rivals. In 2016 alone, it took over Right Power clients and bought the companies of Europe Easy Energy and X Energie. Each of them had many thousands of supply points in the retail segment.

There are also a number of alternative electricity and gas suppliers and energy service providers in the Czech Republic.

Energy services are another step towards broadening the activities of vertically integrated companies and is a segment with great potential for future development.

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ENERGY

Another experiment, where the nuclear research institute in Řež collaborates with 23 scientific workplaces, is testing the possibility of keeping highly toxic molten fuel inside a crashed reactor. In a unique experiment, scientists will test how to prevent the molten mass from damaging the walls of the reactor vessel in the case of a total nuclear breakdown and contamination of the power plant. The last time that the fuel, including the internal reactor equipment, leaked out of the reactor was in Fukushima, Japan, in 2011. With the aid of a financial contribution from the EU Horizon 2020 research programme, a precise copy of a part of the VVER 1000-type reactor of Russian design was built at Řež, worth CZK 42 million. This is the most widely used type of reactor in the world.

Broader contexts of “pure” energy generation are being sought by the Advanced Photovoltaics Centre being built in Prague, in addition to seeking ways of raising the efficiency of solar panels. At the birth of this ambitious centre were graduates from the Nuclear Engineering, Civil Engineering, and Electrical Engineering faculties of the Czech Technical University in Prague. The Centre brings together all aspects of Photovoltaics, from theoretical Physics, which will help to improve the efficiency of solar cells, to technological problems, the testing and diagnostics of solar panels and their integration into the structures of buildings.

A unique scientific and research Geothermal Energy Centre, the only one in the CNG Consumption in the CR Last Year Increased by More than 12 Per Cent The sale of compressed natural gas (CNG) in the Czech Republic is growing from year to year, the number of natural gas vehicles is increasing and the infrastructure is developing. The CNG and biomethane tax credit system in transport is guaranteed

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tiplied year on year. In 2018, PXE reached the historically highest volume of trade in the electricity market, surpassing the 100 TWh mark. The highest-ever volume was recorded in 2017, when the year wound up at the 52.4 TWh level. In previous years, the overall trade volumes were 31.7 TWh (2016) and 25.4 TWh (2015).

Czech Republic, will be built in Litoměřice, on the site of the former King George´s Barracks, which is now being cleared for construction. The next stage of the project will use geothermal energy for heating buildings by deep drilling. In the future, the city is planning to use geothermal energy as an environmentally friendly source of heat.

The project will use the two existing kilometre-deep exploration wells, to which two seismicity monitoring wells will be added.

The actual heat will be pumped from a well four to five kilometres deep, to which two more wells will be added. The geothermal energy thus obtained could in future serve to heat the entire town of Litoměřice. The heat would be transferred to the existing distribution system. Environmentally, this would be a much friendlier system than the use of conventional sources, and would also be much cheaper.

nOBJECTIVES AND AIMS

OF CZECH ENERGY INDUSTRY

The future structure of the energy mix and the strategy of the Czech Republic are outlined by the State Energy Concept approved in 2015. The document envisages a relatively massive reduction in the use of solid fossil fuels, from the current 40 per cent to 11-17 per cent, which mainly concerns black and brown coal. Reduction is also envisaged in the use of liquid fossil fuels to 14-17 per cent from the present 20 per cent, while the importance of nuclear power and renewable energy sources is to until 2025. Behind the record condensed natural gas consumption in the Czech Republic are its advantageous prices, the growing number of filling stations, and the wider offer of new models of cars and buses. In 2018, the sales of this environmentally friendly alternative fuel rose by 12.2 per cent to 75.8 million cubic metres. “The

increase. Concerning natural gas, pressure is expected to grow on ensuring the reduction of its use, but in reality it is very likely that its importance will grow, especially with regard to the flexibility of this fuel.

The Czech Republic will continue to stand on the same pillars on which it has been standing to date: nuclear energy and domestic coal, with the use of domestic renewable sources.

Nuclear energy is to be supplemented with coal and gas. Therefore an important role will be played by the accumulation of heat in hot water tanks and electricity in accumulators to ensure a short-term balance. The development of technology for hydrogen and methane production from electricity for the seasonal storage of summer surpluses gained from renewable sources for winter use will also be important. The role of coal will be weakening with the gradual exhaustion of its domestic deposits, while the role of renewable energy sources, nuclear sources and gas will be strengthening. As regards vehicle drive development, greater space exists for the use of methane and hydrogen obtained from renewable sources, rather than for electromobility. The Czech energy industry is becoming increasingly tied to the development of the European power industry, with all its pros and cons. It will be very important to prevent the transfer of the risks and costs arising from the source irresponsibility in electricity production in other EU states to the Czech power industry. Distributors will have to change into platform providers and link together local plant operators with battery storage facilities, electric car charging stations, smart city applications, and other entities. Grid operators will thus be playing the central role in the framework of the transformation of the Czech power industry. number of CNG vehicles on Czech roads is growing and so is the number of filling stations, and their density is sufficient for convenient driving,” says Lenka Kovačovský, Executive Director of the Czech Gas Union.

“The largest CNG consumers are public transport buses, which operate in more than 60 Czech towns,” she adds.

Photo: DEL a.s. archives

Trading at the Prague Energy Exchange Is Breaking Records The volumes of trade at the Power Exchange Central Europe (PXE) are breaking records. At the end of December 2018, the 100 TWh overall volume of trade recorded from the beginning of the year was surpassed and the trade volume mul-

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ENERGY

Batteries Are Becoming Increasingly Popular with Both Households and Industry

The greatest progress made by the Czech Republic can be seen in the development of renewable energy sources, according to the International Energy Agency.

What is your opinion on this issue?

Despite the massive investment in renewable energy sources in the past, about one half of the output of the Czech power industry still depends on coal burning. Practically no big renewable energy projects have appeared in the Czech Republic over the past five years, with the exception of | 12

the Czech Republic among the world´s innovation leaders. Czech firms are already scoring success in the new energy market. Recently the Regulus Company, with support from the Czech Export Bank, succeeded in Kyrgyzstan with the delivery of solar water heaters and other low-carbon solutions (see Box 1). With support from the Czech Export Bank, we would like to use the opportunity and export Czech technologies in the area of modern energy and support innovative Czech firms in their efforts to set foot in foreign markets.

one large wind park and just a few biogas stations, with solar panels appearing only on the roofs of family houses. What the Czech Republic needs is to start a new stage of modern energy industry development. The plan is to launch a decentralised system connected by smart grids, in which an important role will be played by batteries or electromobiles. This will create opportunities for innovative firms that will be able to offer good energy services or new business models.

Traditionally we are very strong in the area of engineering and the manufacture of power generating equipment, which we are in a position to build and operate efficiently. Many Czech energy firms are expanding to foreign countries.

Where do you see the greatest potential of our firms?

The growing need to globally decarbonise the energy industry is a chance for firms operating in the broad area of modern power engineering. They have an opportunity to participate in project design, construction or delivery of control technologies for smart buildings, intelligent grids, electric car charging infrastructure, battery production and integration grids with a higher proportion, of renewable sources. This is, by the way, one of the main purposes of the Czech New Energy campaign, whose objective is to include

From the foreign investor´s point of view, the Czech Republic is energy attractive, both as regards legislation and future development. Is more investment in production facilities to be expected? Can you specify?

For years the Czech Republic has enjoyed the reputation of a stable and predictable country as regards investment in the power industry. Regrettably, the interventions in guaranteed purchase prices for renewable sources made by the former governments did not do much good to the reputation of Czech energy firms in the eyes of foreign investors. Some of them even initiated international arbitrations against the Czech Republic. At the moment, the Czech power engineering industry is lacking a clear plan to show that the government is interested in new renewable sources’ projects. This is another limiting factor for attracting new investors, who in this respect are rather turning their attention to the markets in Hungary, Turkey, or South America. A turn for the better could be the envisaged enactment of the Supported Sources Act Amendment. Another chance is the early implementation of the Smart Grids Action Plan. The Ministry of Industry and Trade has outlined this strategy on the basis of current trends, the realisation of which could bring about interesting investments in the area of smart grids and energy accumulation.

You cooperate with the Czech Export Bank (CEB), which is more inclined to support green technology exports. The partnership you struck up with CEB at the beginning of 2019 is intended to help Czech producers in the field of low-carbon economy sustainable solutions to

Photo: Modern Energy Union archives, pixabay.com

“The Czech Republic needs a bold plan that will gradually ensure its independence of fossil fuel combustion. The modern power industry is key to obtaining pure, accessible, and cheap energy. In the next decade, thanks to the production of new solar panels, wind turbines, biomass incineration plants and biogas stations, the proportion of green component in the electricity output may increase to a full one-quarter. The government has prepared a very good strategy for the period until 2030 and the new energy industry concept may become its integral part,” says Martin Sedlák, Programme Manager of the Modern Energy Union.

CZECH BUSINESS AND TRADE

find new customers in other countries.

What actually is this project about?

The partnership is based primarily on information exchange. We help CEB with communication concerning export opportunities. The bank´s representatives may address Czech firms at our roundtable conferences and other meetings. In future, we would like to map out together foreign markets interested in the development of elements in the area of the modern power industry.

What impact will the new trends in the power industry have on industrial production in the Czech Republic? Should we expect further lowering of energy intensiveness in industry?

The ambition of the Czech Republic should be to increase the proportion of energy generated from renewable sources from the current 13 per cent to at least

25 per cent by the year 2030. In the next decade, the proportion of the green electricity component could increase to a full one-quarter, mainly thanks to the output of new solar panels, wind turbines, biomass-burning boilers and biogas stations.

We expect that the Ministry of Industry,

with its new Minister Karel Havlíček, will set the conditions in a better way, so as to ensure the further development of renewable sources with an emphasis on technological neutrality.

The Czech Republic is an industrial country, but at the same time it is one

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ENERGY

Modern Energy Technologies The Czech manufacturer, Regulus, s.r.o., won the contest, competing against international suppliers from Russia and China. The company completed the modernisation of a boiler plant in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, and, together with other Czech manufacturers, will supply the plant and a local sports centre now under construction with energy equipment. These two Czech deliveries to Kyrgyzstan, worth an aggregate of more than one million euros, are financed by the Czech Export Bank (CEB).

“Czech energy technology manufacturers are traditionally among the world´s top suppliers. The fact that the Czech Export Bank has financed several successful projects in such an export-intensive country like Kyrgyzstan is evidence of the capabilities of domestic exporters, who know how to succeed even in the area of modern low-carbon solutions,” explains Jaroslav Výborný, Chairman of the Board of Directors and Managing Director of CEB. In April 2019, the central heat supplier in Bishkek launched a modernised boiler plant connected to photothermic panels and other technical equipment supplied by Regulus.

This company, in collaboration with CEB, has delivered low-energy environmentally friendly heating systems for several projects in Kyrgyzstan. The best known is the Dasmia conference centre, the world´s largest yurt with a surface area of one square kilometre, which can hold up to 1 000 people. It was this reference that was a recommendation for the firm´s entry in the “Dasmia 2” project, which, in addition, will comprise a swimming pool and a sports centre, the first premium sports centre in the country. Czech firms will supply various

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photovoltaic power stations. In addition, there is a tremendous potential of energy services in the framework of EPC projects, which may amount to several billion Czech crowns per year. One of the most successful firms in this area is ČEZ ESCO, which last year grew by 120 per cent. It offers firms very good opportunities, such as the reconstruction of lighting systems, better use of waste technologies for the centre. “Air-conditioning systems will be supplied by the Janka firm, sanitary equipment by the Ptáček company, photothermic panels will be delivered by Regulus, swimming pool technologies by Vagner Pool, and gas boilers by Thermona,” says Jaroslav Výborný, Head of CEB, which will finance the export of the equipment.

Modern power engineering is already finding its way to Central Asian countries, where it can help with the electrification of remote mountain regions and reduce the proportion of fossil fuel usage. This provides an opportunity for Czech firms, which can offer technologies for easier integration of renewable sources in the grid, in addition to hydroelectric and biogas power stations.

The Modern Energy Union expects that more contracts will be coming from much more accessible markets in the European Union, in connection with the plan of the European Commission for the decarbonisation of the continental economy, which represents a volume of business amounting to EUR 1.3 trillion. “In the development of low-carbon technologies, Europe is seeing the opportunity of raising the competitiveness of enterprises, reducing the cost of energy of both households and firms and, in particular, ensuring clear air for the people of Europe. This is also an opportunity for Czech firms, which can offer their solutions in the European market,” Martin Sedlák, Programme Manager of the Modern Energy Union, comments on the European strategy. To support modern technology manufacturers, the Czech Export Bank and the Modern Energy Union have struck up a partnership to assist domestic exporters in the conquest of new markets.

heat, heat insulation of buildings, and investment in co-generation units.

Batteries in the service of the Czech power industry – what, in your opinion, is their potential?

Batteries are becoming increasingly popular with both households and industry.

Last year, for example, the number of hybrid solar power stations with batteries installed in family houses increased by leaps and bounds. Several projects of larger batteries will also be realised in industry. For the time being, however, the Czech Republic is not prepared for the installation of large battery systems, and the two large batteries standing in the country do not as yet have the required

Photo: pixabay.com

of the most energy intensive EU states.

Only Bulgaria and Estonia consume more energy per unit of GDP than the Czech Republic. Despite a massive decline in the past few years, in 2015 the energy intensity of the Czech economy was more than 50 per cent higher than the European average. The best solution for firms to reduce their dependence on fossil fuels is to increase the use of

CZECH BUSINESS AND TRADE

legislative backing. On the other hand, accumulation is a challenge for Czech development firms, some of which have already taken the initiative. For example, the battery from OIG Power succeeded in the innovative project competition in Spain (see Box 3), and another Czech firm, Energon, has successfully tested its big stationary battery in the German market (see Box 2). The development of accumulation is also an opportunity for the manufacture of battery systems, and the Czech Republic is already preparing to start the production of batteries for energy storage facilities and electric car charging stations.

Smart Cities and the Czech Republic –

How does the CR stand in comparison with other developed countries?

The interest in smart mobility projects on the part of cities is growing. Several A Czech Large-capacity Battery Being Tested in Germany The battery energy storage system (BSS) with a capacity of 13 MWh, presented in 2018 by the Czech company, Energon Advanced Energetics (Energon), has successfully passed a test in sharp operation. Since the end of November 2018, it is being tested by the German company, AEG Power Solutions, which provided it with converters. During the test, the unique BESS system was pre-

Czech and Moravian cities have already started replacing diesel buses with pure electric buses. As an energy-saving measure, Prague and Brno have successfully sented to trade partners from all over Europe. The two firms used the occasion to announce their partnership for several more battery projects. Battery storage systems similar to the container currently being tested will find their use, for example, with electricity producers, the battery manufacturers report. Their use can help to stabilise power transmission and distribution systems, which in the Czech Republic would be a business worth some five billion crowns per year.

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ENERGY

installed energy management systems on their buildings. The town of Litoměřice is especially successful as regards new energy projects, on the long-term basis.

I am persuaded that, in time, Czech city authorities will introduce measures that will motivate people and firms to use energy from renewable sources, as we know it, for example, from Germany or the USA.

A Czech Barttery Start-up Wins a Prize in an International Competition OIG POWER s.r.o., a Czech company manufacturing battery systems for households and firms, has won the Quality Innovation Prize in the Business Innovations of Micro Enterprises and Startups category in Bilbao, Spain, within the framework of the 2017 Quality Innovation Awards competition. The special value of the Award, besides the high quality of the product and the absolutely novel approach to the method of its manufacture and its energy self-sufficiency, is the fact that this was the second time in the ten-year history of the competition that the company has succeeded. In 2018, OIG POWER s.r.o. won with its CES BATTERY BOX system in competition with 431 firms from 13 countries. Its unique technical solution means an important step forward on the way to the energy self-sufficiency of households and firms.

The system links together electricity production from renewable sources with its storage, making it possible to control its consumption and use it for feeding all electrical appliances inside a building.

This ensures the maximum usage of the

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of new solar panels, wind turbines, biomass-burning boilers and biogas stations.

The government has prepared a very good innovation strategy for the period until 2030, and the new power engineering programme can become its integral part. That is why the Modern Energy Union is coming forward with its New Energy of the Czech Republic campaign, which in fact means energy generated by the solar panels on the roof of a house. For an ordinary family house, the system means not only a significant saving in energy costs, but also the certainty of energy supply in the case of a blackout.

CES BATTERY BOX is a combination of the insular, independent energy system with the conventional photovoltaic power station, which has its own battery bank. The storage of the energy generated by the box in the battery bank is the optimum way of self-generated solar energy management, which can be used in the household at any time and not only while the system is in operation.

The size of the three-phase family-house or company version is about that of a fridge. “Our objective is to help people to be independent of the outer environment. Most of us get concerned with energy only at the moment the light or heating go out, due to a breakdown, or when we get the energy bill. With our product, we´ll not be obliged to solve either of these two problems, and will be more or less independent as regards energy supply. Our system can easily be controlled through an application

lending a helping hand to the government.

The New Energy of the Czech Republic campaign has the form of a charter with four basic pillars, based on the advanced vision of the Czech Energy Policy. One of the objectives it has set itself is to bring the Czech Republic to rank among the world´s innovation leaders. Modern power engineering is a method to opening the way in a mobile telephone,” explains Martin Kuba, former Minister of Industry and Trade, whose OIG group is the majority owner of OIG POWER which makes the CES BATTERY BOX systems. The system is an answer to the main problem of small solar sources’ development, i.e. the ability to store and consume the energy at the time we need it and not only when the sun is shining. In the Czech Republic, CES BATTERY BOXes have undergone their first practical, and successful, testing when they were installed in family houses and industrial plants. In industry, successful pilot projects have already been realised, on the basis of which OIG POWER is installing its systems on structures in the area of gas industry, water engineering, and strategic product pipelines, where the CES BATTERY BOXes are ideal as electricity sources used for different purposes. “We have carried out a number of successful installations in family houses, where we are seeing a tremendous potential, the same as in small firms. The exclusive representative for our BATTERY BOX in the Czech and Slovak Republics is ČEZ company,” Martin Kuba adds.

Photo: Siemens archives; pixabay.com

What opportunities and prospects do you see in power engineering in the CR? How will the development of the sector be targeted? What is the Czech power industry lacking most?

The Czech Republic needs a bold plan that will ensure the country´s gradual independence from fossil fuel burning. Modern power engineering is the key to a pure, accessible and cheap energy supply. In the next decade, the proportion of green component in electricity may grow to as much as one-quarter, mainly thanks to the output

CZECH BUSINESS AND TRADE

to Czech firms to the market specialising in technologies for smart buildings, intelligent grids, charging infrastructure for electric cars, the manufacture of batteries and their integration in grids with a higher proportion of renewable sources. Another objective of the campaign is raising the proportion of renewable sources by the year 2030 and supporting the energy independence of households, which is the easiest solution to prevent falling into energy poverty.

Last but not least, it is essential to start the pure transport programme, as transport is one of the main air polluters in towns. Anyone among the general public may sign up for the objectives of the campaign and support the development of modern power engineering in the Czech Republic. The Modern Energy Union will also work for the creation of a team of ambassadors to assist with the realisation of the campaign and address the target groups in the first stage of the campaign.

nNATIONAL ACTION PLAN

FOR SMART GRIDS 2019-2030

The National Action Plan for Smart Grids (NAP SG) was prepared by the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MIT ) on the basis of the State Energy Concept (SEC) approved by the government in 2015. The document imposes upon the Ministry of Industry and Trade the obligation to submit to the government by 31 December 2019 a draft update of the National

ČEZ ESCO – Modern Energy Area The revenue from the sale of non-commodity products for 2018 by ČEZ ESCO, which operates on the Czech and Slovak markets, rose by 27 per cent year on year, from CZK 4.4 billion to 5.5 billion. The results were pushed up mainly by the strong organic growth. “Our financial results for last year reveal the great interest shown in modern energy in all our products and services.

We earned more for the installation of air-conditioning systems, renovation of lighting in industry, and the construction of energy equipment for external clients,” says Kamil Čermák, Managing Director of ČEZ ESCO. Our largest contracts last year included the construction of a new heating plant for steam production in Spolana, Neratovice, and the construction of technical equipment for cold production in

Action Plan. Thereby MIP will submit to the government the National Action Plan for Smart Grids 2019-2030 (updated NAP SG). To ensure the functioning of the smart grids, it is necessary to create legislative, tariff and regulatory conditions for the integration of the expected development of the decentralised (especially renewable) sources of electricity production, accumulation and consumption, including electro mobility, in the elec-

Fatra Napajedla and Benteler. Largely responsible for the increase in revenue were our deliveries of air-conditioning equipment, heat production, and the operation of energy equipment and its servicing and maintenance for clients.

Further expansion of ESCO in future will be supported by the latest all-European targets set. The commitments made last year in the area of energy efficiency bind EU countries to cut their energy consumption by 32.5 per cent by 2030. This is a great opportunity for both modern energy solutions in industry and for energy-saving projects to use energy performance contracting in communities and public buildings, where the supplier guarantees to the client in the contract the right to the amount that will be saved by the energy-saving investment.

trisation system of the Czech Republic (ES CR), and for the use and provision of new kinds of services to clients and other participants in the electricity market. Another task is to carry out the digitalisation and automation of the distribution network, enabling its remote control, rapid response to any potential failure conditions, and to satisfy the requirements of clients and ensure efficient control of the aging process and renovation of the distribution network. Distributors must provide the distribution networks with monitoring systems at all voltage levels, ensure automation and remote control of the grids with the use of new generation control systems guaranteeing the functioning of both local and central control functions, including the use of artificial intelligence elements. An indivisible part of the grids will be a communication infrastructure with a high level of cybernetic safety (separated circuits for dispatch grid control) that will also ensure the required safety of data transfer. The operators of the transmission and distribution systems must ensure the high reliability, quality and safety of the electricity supply and resistance against external influences.

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CZECH BUSINESS AND TRADE

Doosan Škoda Power Is Still Doing Well up the way for you to further contracts in that territory?

Not for the time being, but it will come later. It is just a matter of time, following the accomplished and timely realisation of the Lansing project. In the USA, we have also managed to break through with our supplies of substitute rotors for gas turbines with expired service life. This is a very interesting segment.

Doosan Škoda Power is known as a modern, dynamic firm which supplies highly efficient steam turbines rightly ranked among the best worldwide.

“We have been manufacturing steam turbines for more than a century and have worked all the operating experiences gained during that time into the design of our products,” says Jiří Šmondrk, Managing Director of Doosan Škoda Power.

Doosan Škoda Power is a modern, dynamic firm supplying highly efficient steam turbines which are rightly ranked among the best in the world market.

Can you mention more details about these products? Wherein does their unique nature rest?

The turbines are known for their extremely long service life and their practically 100 per cent reliability. They are often operated at reduced power levels, with the possibility of their rapid return to maximum out-

You are an important Czech exporter, selling a significant part of its production to clients abroad. Do you think Czech products enjoy a good reputation in other countries?

Turbines definitely do and so do our cars, machine tools etc. The rest of Czech products are not so visible in business we do.

put. These properties are greatly valued, especially when the turbines receive energy from the wind and sun, where the energy supply is often affected by fluctuations.

At the end of 2018, you celebrated a historic achievement, when you signed a contract for the delivery of a combined-cycle steam turbine for the power station in Lansing. It is the company´s historically first project on US territory. Has this contract opened

You have a number of foreign reference orders. Which projects were among the most important in the past? Which territories are the most significant for you in terms of export?

As regards our recent achievements, I especially appreciate our penetration of the Indonesian market and naturally our exports to the USA. Our contracts in Peru, Nigeria and, this year, in Japan and South Korea are also valuable.

You are also a firm which places emphasis on innovation and which is continually improving its products. What is your feeling about the current innovation pressure?

This especially concerns the innovation of products and processes aimed at achieving optimum cost efficiency. We have started 3D printing, which is rather expensive for the time being and is suitable for automation processes, but its time will soon come.

What are your specific plans for the development of your company? What trends for the future can you see in your line of business?

The conventional energy market is narrowing down and we increasingly have to compete with firms in China and India.

Most of the material components and competitors come from those countries.

If we want to succeed, we must not be lulled into complacency. Only maximum originality and ingenuity will assure our position in the steam turbine market.

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SMART CITIES

Towns and Municipalities Focusing on Sustainable Energy Management

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You participate in programmes concerning national and international sustainable energy projects, such as ProgRESsHEAT (fostering the use of renewable energies for heating and cooling), SCORE (development of community OZE), STARDUST (brownfield renovation into environmentally friendly and low-energy districts), and INNOVATE (innovative forms of financing energy savings in housing). Can you give us some details concerning your activities in the framework of the sustainable energy projects mentioned above?

In the framework of those projects, we were and are trying to find good energy solutions for Litoměřice, a town situated some 60 km north-east of Prague, i.e. to find, under the ProgRESsHEAT project, energy mix suitable for the city from the point of view of the availability of local RES and the costs involved. We are looking for ways of financing small-size photovoltaic systems to be installed on the roofs of buildings with private resources (citizens, local businessmen), and guarantee the profitability of the money invested, with the assistance of the SCORE project. Under the STARDUST project, we are examining possibilities of renovating a brownfield (former barracks) into an environmentally friendly district, while the INNOVATE project will assist inhabitants throughout the entire energy refurbishment process of their buildings, from the pilot idea to fi-

nancial consulting to the evaluation of the energy measures taken.

Where do you see the country´s potential as regards sustainable energy production and use?

From my point of view, the potential is also very significant in communal conditions, where towns and municipalities are becoming increasingly aware of the fact that sustainable energy management will bring them not only cuts in operating costs, but also greater energy independence. Towns and municipalities are becoming aware of the great potential existing in the use of renewable sources, even as regards energy intensiveness. This issue, which has long been missing from local authorities´ agendas, is now reaching the fore of their interest.

Renovation, modernisation, passive standard, smart city, and active energy buildings. What are the current trends in the Czech Republic?

Probably all the processes you are mentioning, and in particular with regard to their potential linkage. The point is that the renovation and modernisation of buildings should take place in the passive or some other energy efficient standard, where this is technically and economically feasible. The new trends are, for example, energy active buildings (which are not as yet covered by legisla-

Photo: Association of Towns and Municipalities archives

Renovation, modernisation, passive standard, smart city or energy active buildings are terms often mentioned by representatives of Czech towns in relation to the energy future of the country and the municipalities they manage.

The long-term objective of the current energy policies of developed countries is to reduce the proportion of energy produced from fossil fuels and, on the contrary, to increase the share of energy obtained from renewable sources, and to reduce energy intensiveness on the part of production and consumption.

Both these factors – energy saving and rational and economic use of renewable energy sources (RES) – are significant from the point of view of towns and cities. What does Jaroslav Klusák, Chairman of the Association of Towns and Municipalities say on this subject?

CZECH BUSINESS AND TRADE

tion in the CR), or the Smart City concept, where in my opinion the government is still seeking the optimum way of making it available to municipalities and is looking for areas most suitable for the propagation of this idea.

What impact will the new trends in the energy industry have on industrial production in the Czech Republic?

Can we expect any further lowering of energy intensiveness in industry?

Energy intensiveness in industry is a subject we only marginally deal with in our projects and activities, so that I can´t base my answer on my own experience. Nevertheless, the trend as regards energy saving must manifest itself across all sectors.

What is the principal driving force motivating the Smart City concept?

Such a force today are the firms offering “smart” solutions for towns and municipalities, thus triggering follow-up activities. There are active cities and towns in the Czech Republic which devise their own “smart” concepts and processes, showing where and how to start and how

to integrate most of the activities into the process and to link them together. Very often, however, the Smart City concept is erroneously reduced to the mere use of new technologies. In reality, it is much more than that. The new processes, procedures and approaches to the preparation of projects, tendering, etc. are very important for towns.

How is the Czech Republic doing in comparison with other EU states? Is it keeping pace or is it lagging behind?

I can only judge the communal level, which has been my domain on a long-term basis.

Here, in comparison with Europe, we are rather at the beginning; in building renovation we concern ourselves only with investments, not with long-term operation, where the energy aspect of the operation of properties is considered a mandatory expense and there is not much effort to reduce the operation. That is why we have founded the Association of Energy Managers of Towns and Municipalities, which has set itself the task of propagating the sustainable energy production and position of energy managers on the municipalities.

What opportunities and prospects can you see in the Czech energy sector? In which direction will its development proceed? What is the sector lacking most?

At the local level, it is definitely decentralisation. Towns, municipalities, and other public authorities will no longer be mere energy consumers, but also its producers and suppliers. They will create local cooperatives that will transmit and sell energy among themselves by means of local distribution systems, according to their needs and will not burden the distribution system so much with their surpluses. Concerning energy savings, these will not merely mean new and more efficient technologies, but will develop into a system of energy management at the local level, where energy needs will be monitored and energy consumption evaluated and technologies will help energy managers to control and plan energy consumption and prepare towns and municipalities for changes in the energy sector. The Czech energy system is most lacking a vision of progress, where diversified energy sources are introduced more widely to the market and energy savings are combined with the broader use of renewable sources.

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SMART CITIES

Original BRENS EUROPE Rail Sound Absorbers

Urban transport structures (streets, railways. tramways, parking areas, storage and manufacturing surfaces) strongly influence the city climate and the quality of life in towns and cities. They are a source of noise, vibrations and dust. Streets, parking areas, storage surfaces, and manufacturing sites create huge “heat accumulators”. Urban development thus creates heat islands, which are a significant factor of microclimatic changes. Rapid and safe road transport requires the construction of solid, level and drained roadways. Their use for the humanisation of urban spaces is minimal. Railway or tramway transport requires a permanently stable track geIn the Converting Waste into Resources competition, the BRENS STERED rail noise absorber with a water retention function has been accorded the “Best Secondary Raw Material Product 2018” by the Minister of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic. This new and advanced technical solution is certain to find its use in other European cities in their effort to cope with environmental problems, the humanisation of public space and adjustment to climate change. As a matter of interest, in 2018 the Slovak city of Košice became the

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ometry. Today, this is ensured by technically well mastered track understructures and superstructures made of crossbeams laid on a gravel bed or a fixed track. Consequently, the whole space between the rails and within them is ready for being returned into the life cycle of the Earth by nature-friendly measures. The current method of creating green tramway tracks is to spread earth and humus layers within the track structure, overgrown with intensively or extensively cultivated strips of grass. “From the environmental point of view, without sufficient artificial watering in the summer months, however, natural lawns lose their purpose, the noise first city in the world to use the BRENS STERED rail sound absorber with a water retention function in the modernisation of the tram track in SNP Street with a surface formed by an artificial lawn and vegetation carpets. Sixty per cent of the original concrete panel surface was replaced by water retention and sound reduction absorbers, thus reducing sunshine heat accumulation on a 1 360 m long track by 55 per cent to 482 000 litres of rainwater. This installed rainwater retention capacity will retain up to 97 per cent of the annual rainfall total.

Photo: BRENS EUROPE archives

Rail sound absorbers are a new original technology combining three essential requirements facing today´s railways: noise and vibration reduction, thermal island elimination and the use of railway surfaces for precipitation retention, and turning wastes into raw material, based on circular economy principles. Therefore, the main benefits of their use are noise elimination from rail transport, new green space creation in towns and improvement of climatic conditions in enclosed city agglomerations. “This requires modernising the preparation and realisation of railway construction that will eliminate their part played in city overheating and thermal island creation,” says Jan Eisenreich, Statutory Director of BRENS EUROPE in Plzeň.

CZECH BUSINESS AND TRADE

complete extinction, while the overheated and dried earth between the rails also loses its water retention capacity, and in heavy or torrential rain is washed away or eroded. “Both experimental measuring and operating conditions have shown that, on a rockcrop SEDUM or artificial lawn vegetation cover, the rail noise absorber with water retention will always retain torrential rain and slow down the flow of water into the sewerage system with a delay, until the absorber has been saturated,” Eisenreich explains.

dampening is reduced, dust increases and, in addition, the withered grass may emit further allergens into the air,” adds Director Eisenreich. That is why BRENS EUROPE sought and has found a solution.

n THE BRENS STERED RAIL

NOISE ABSORBER

The rail noise absorber with a water retention function is made from wastes generated by the automotive industry, specifically from recycled synthetic textiles and rubber, where some 16.5 tonnes of processed synthetic and 27.5 tonnes of recycled rubber are needed for 100 metres of a two-rail track. This material is obtained exclusively from reprocessed wastes in the automotive industry (e.g. materials used in the manufacture of car seats, carpets, filters, etc., which, using the STERED patent-protected technology, acquire new utility properties). Another material base is reprocessed rubber waste from tyres and other technical rubber products.

These input materials are pressed into absorber parts arranged sandwich-wise. For a stonecrop sedum vegetation surface, a minimum amount of earth substrates made into a cultivation fabric is needed.

“The BRENS STERED patent-protected rail noise absorber with a water retention function is to date the only known technical solution based exclusively on the circular economy principles, using only synthetic textiles and rubber grit. After the expiry of the absorber service life, i.e. after about 20 to 25 years, the material bases will be separated by special technology and will be prepared for new pressing,” Eisenreich explains. During the recycling process, all mechanical impurities and the dust absorbed by the parts during their exposure in the rail will be removed. The proper service life of the synthetic textiles and technical rubber is more than 50 years, after which time the material can be once again recycled and the waste generated by repeated recycling can be further used in industry as a valuable fuel.

n ADJUSTMENT

TO THE EUROPEAN CLIMATE

The current climate change and the requirements concerning the environment in towns and large industrial agglom-

n NOISE, VIBRATION, AND

SURFACE TEMPERATURE REDUCTION AND HEAT ACCUMULATION

erations call for a reappraisal of the currently used conventional green rail track technologies with the use of natural grass strips and earth. The growing surface areas of tracks built in this way obviously raise the requirement for hygienically safe water sources for watering, and call for the coverage of the financial costs incurred by the maintenance of the surfaces and the vegetation cover. Moreover, the current moisture deficit of rainwater experienced by all of Europe requires additional watering. Longer spells of dry weather and hot days lead to the complete drying out of the cultivation layer within a short time.

The layer is relatively thin, given by the construction of the rail, being not more than 16-18 cm thick. The subsequent dehydration of the grass cover results in its BRENS EUROPE The firm also concerns itself with railway crossings and low-noise barriers, in addition to rail noise absorber manufacture. Low BRENS BARRIERS for conventional railways make it possible to use an application in the rail with a rail grill, without grounding in the soil, enabling a prompt evacuation of persons from a train and urgent intervention by rescue teams in emergency situations. Low noise barriers for tramways are formed by gabion baskets filled with recycled materials retaining water. The outside

The actual material base of the STERED recycled synthetic material shows a very high sound absorption capacity. The sound and vibration reduction measuring in absorbers built in the rail has proved a 9-dB noise emission reduction under operation. Concrete panels or the paving of the track rails are heat collectors strongly accumulating sunshine heat. For example, one metre of a double track will accumulate some 2 500 kJ of heat. On the other hand, one metre of a double track with BRENS STERED absorbers accumulates only about 173 kJ, and a natural lawn track with soil 210 kJ. This proves that, in the case of BRENS STERED noise absorbers, heat accumulation is about 15 times lower, strongly reducing the ambient air temperature. The change of the concrete or asphalt surface into vegetation surface absorbers is to be felt especially during the night. of the barrier is designed so as to allow it to be overgrown with a natural vegetation cover. In newly built tunnels and on long elevated roads, rescue sections from prefabricated BRENS ACCESS segments are installed. These surfaces, which are not accessible to the public, serve for rescue purposes to allow access to the rail engineering structures and the emergency escape of persons from the track. The latest BRENS ACCESS rescue surface application was installed at both portals of the new Ejpovice Tunnel in Plzeň at the end of last year.

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SMART CITIES

The Smart Cities Project Covers a Broad Territory

“SmartCAMPUS ZČU is an interesting project, enabling a combination of activities with instruction, so that students joining such teams can work using “smart” technologies already during their studies. In this connection, we must not forget about our municipalities, which are using “smart” solutions in areas of their competence and for which the SmartCAMPUS can be a place where they are able to discover how “smart” technologies work and to consult experts as to their suitability for a particular town, municipality and region, and to obtain information, for example, about the service life and reliability of the particular “smart” solution,” adds Kašpar.

SmartCAMPUS ZČU and towns, that sounds interesting. Can you mention some examples of collaboration?

At the university-town level, SmartCAMPUS provides an opportunity to set up combined expert teams, which can tackle different projects together, not only in the SmartCities area. As an example, I can mention one of the current projects, the development of Fire Detection Sensors, where the Plzeň Municipality, together with the

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University of West Bohemia, is developing autonomous sensor units to be located at the site of a fire, even in difficult terrain, using drones. The sensor units will very quickly map out the immediate surroundings of the focal point of the fire and inform the firefighters in real time about its spread.

Which are currently your major SmartCAMPUS projects?

The SmartCity ZČU Group, comprising members across all the University faculties and some specialised University workplaces, has set up working groups for the following areas: ICT infrastructure and sensorics, smart parking, energy management of buildings, mapping and navigation, open data and standards, and marketing and communication. These groups are working on their own projects. For example, the ICT infrastructure and sensorics group, which, using the University campus grounds, together with the firm RVTech s.r.o., has developed a LoRaWAN IoT network, a smart cloud platform operated on the University premises together with the firm Technologické centrum Písek, s.r.o. and is now working on changes of the infrastructure of the campus lighting system, which will make possible

Photo: SmartCity & IoT Group archives

The SmartCAMPUS ZČU project is a scale model of a town, a living testbed enabling the testing of the most advanced smart and IoT technologies on a reduced scale, for the thorough testing of “pre-pilot” operations for their final use in larger entities, such as regions, cities, and firms.

“SmartCAMPUS ZČU is giving opportunities not only to firms, which can test these smart technologies on the grounds of the University campus in Plzeň, but also to the University itself, which can use this opportunity for the creation of multisectoral teams consisting of experts of different firms and those of the University, across a relatively wide range of specialisations, from electronics and software engineering to mechanics, healthcare, design, economics, etc.,” says Petr Kašpar, SmartCity & IoT Group, R & D Senior Project Manager.

CZECH BUSINESS AND TRADE

the realisation of yet other smart solutions and technological inventions.

Do you sense any new trends currently appearing in the Smart Cities area?

The Smart Cities area covers a very wide territory and new trends keep competing with each other. Today, practically every human activity is intertwined with innovation technologies bearing the “smart” label.

In places where more people are concentrated, i.e. in towns, ever more innovative technologies are being used, which partly explains the use of the term “Smart Cities”.

This technological boom, which mankind is experiencing, is gathering speed and momentum, and I think this trend will continue. In this connection, it would be good to look back to see what traces people are leaving behind on their way to technological development. I am seeing a trend in the growing use of biodegradable materials, which have no negative impact on nature after the expiry of their service life. Today, it has become a general practice to use biodegradable materials, for example, in the manufacture of shopping bags. This trend, however, could be boosted much further, to cover areas such as electronics, where the trend can already be seen – a trend rightly deserving the “smart” label. It is

a challenge for research teams, an opportunity for the commercial sphere and hope for nature.

How, in your opinion, is the Czech Republic doing in this respect in comparison with the rest of Europe? Is it keeping pace or is it lagging behind?

I think the Czech Republic is trying to keep pace with Europe and the rest of the world, and it certainly cannot be said that it is lagging behind. In some areas, it has even surpassed the average. This is, for example, as regards the infrastructure in the area of the Internet of Things (IoT), where, in addition to the Sigfox network in the rendering of SimpleCell Networks a.s., LoRaWAN standard networks with full coverage, operated by České radiokomunikace a.s., soon came into being in addition to the LoRaWAN local networks. For example, there is LORATECH, which enables its usage even by smaller localities, usually those with higher signal density. Its modular character makes it possible to be built even by small communities, towns and regions. A good example is the City of Plzeň, which was the first in the Czech Republic to build its own LoRaWAN network. When speaking about the communication infrastructure for smart solutions, mention must be made of the

purely Czech solution, the IQRF platform of the firm Microrisc s.r.o., which came into being even before the first IoT networks appeared, and the NB-IoT network, which is also in operation in the Czech Republic.

Where do you see any danger threatening the Smart Cities concept?

In my opinion, the greatest danger threatening the development of new technologies, including the Smart Cities idea, is the country´s rigid, inflexible legislation.

Technologies are and will always be quicker than legislation, but considering the current rapid development, the changes should quickly follow suit in the form of laws respecting this development. Regrettably, this is a problem, which in turn affects the development of these technologies and their practical application. Another threat to the Smart Cities concept is the “Vendor Lock” systems, which do not respect the very nature of “smart” solutions. It is generally accepted that “smart” technologies should be able to communicate with each other, that they should be open as far as possible. In reality, however, the technologies being offered on the market are “closed” and, what is even worse, towns and municipalities are still buying them. It often happens that towns 25 |

SMART CITIES

find out only after several years that the technologies they have bought cannot be freely expanded and connected to other systems. In addition, they do not make it possible to retrieve the data collected by systems purchased a few years before.

What is the main driving force for the development of this sector?

Unequivocally, I think it is the development of new technologies.

In March this year, the University of West Bohemia was one of the exhibitors at the Smart City Summit & Expo in Taiwan, where you presented the outputs of your applied research in the Smart Textiles and IoT categories. Can you give us some details?

At the Smart City Summit & Expo fair in Taipei, we presented our SmartPRO2 Firefighting Suit, which we have developed at the University in collaboration with our industrial partners and which the firm Vo-

EPRONA, a.s.

Our supply range: microprocessor-controlled chargers switching modular power supply systems switching rectifiers with high output currents thyristor rectifiers intelligent backup voltage sources industrial switchboards sheet steel products eloxed aluminium varnishing engineering and consulting services delivery including assembly service We are certified to ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 and also hold the GREEN FIRM certification.

EPRONA, a.s. | Horní Rokytnice 309 | 512 45 Rokytnice nad Jizerou | Czech Republic E-mail: prodej@eprona.cz | Phone: +420 481 549 126 www.eprona.cz

| 26

choc, s.r.o. will place on the market later this year, with all the required certifications, such as ATEX – certification of electrical equipment for explosive atmospheres. Besides the suit, we presented another project – the SensPro Smart Glove designed for use by firefighters. It can measure temperature not only on its surface, but also on remote objects. The glove, too, already has all the required certifications. Its manufacturer is the firm Holík International s.r.o., which is selling it worldwide. At our stand, we also presented examples of the outputs of our other projects, such as hybrid sewing threads, which have sensoric properties, electronic technologies incorporated into flexible textiles, IoT Hazardous Environment Threat Detection Sensors, flexible electronics and printed sensors.

Besides the Smart City Summit & Expo fair, we actively attended the session of the Czech-Taiwanese Business Council, where we presented the results of our work in the

R&D area and established contacts for future international projects.

Which other foreign events will you attend this year?

During this summer and autumn, we are planning at least two more events, where we would like to present the outcomes of our applied research in the areas of Smart Textiles and Hazardous Environment Threat Detection Sensors. Primarily we are preparing for our mission to the USA, which will take place in August. Within its framework, we would like to visit the Fire Rescue International Fair in Atlanta, the University of Maryland, and other institutions and associations concerned with firefighting innovations. In autumn this year, we are planning to present our Firefighting Suit and the Smart Glove, in collaboration with our consortium partners, at the European A+A exhibition in Düsseldorf, Germany.

CZECH BUSINESS AND TRADE

STARMON: Innovative Public Transport Technologies STARMON is a leading Czech firm in the area of transport technologies based on the long experience and skills of its workers in the telecommunications and security sector, specifically railway signalling and microelectronics. Thanks to their workmanship and energy, STARMON has become a well-established and successful company in the area of electronic interlocking, which it exports to many countries. Besides safety devices and systems, it concerns itself, for example, with rail vehicle defect diagnostics and information devices for passengers.

For public administration it has developed an information system, EZOP, which is used as an electronic office board. STARMON has set itself ambitious aims: to expand its production capacity, penetrate foreign markets and maintain abovestandard production flexibility with a mark of seriousness. “The main objective of the firm is high quality, reliability, good price, and of course the satisfied customer,” says Company Director, Jaroslav Mládek.

What in brief is the history of your company?

Our firm was founded in 1993. From the very beginning, it has been focused on innovative technologies in the area of communication and safety equipment for railway and municipal transport. Right from the outset, we bet on microprocessor and computer technologies and reaped several primacies. For example, in 1994, we were the first in the Czech Republic to develop and install a microcomputer diagnostic device, DIAB-1, and in 1996 we installed, at the Slatiňany railway station, the first electronic interlocking system, SZZ-K, on the Czech rail network.

You are offering comprehensive services in the area of communication and security technologies. Are there any interesting references in this area you are proud of?

Thinking of references, I must unequivocally point out the installation, in collaboration with AŽD Praha s.r.o., of the electronic interlocking system in Prague Metro, and dozens of electronic interlocking systems on the SŽDC network. In the area of diagnostics, I can mention our comprehensive network of diagnostic systems for moving rail vehicles for the Czech Railroad Administration Office (SŽDC) and thousands of measuring centres installed in a number of European and Asian countries.

Smart Cities and the Czech Republic – how is the CR doing in comparison with other advanced countries?

For the time being, these trends are only taking root in the Czech Republic. The principal point in this connection is investment, but some cities have already realised their ideas and plans, especially in the area of public transport. Regrettably, at the moment, the Czech Republic is lagging behind, but I am confident that this is going to change in coming years.

Can you observe any trends appearing in the Czech Republic as regards the Smart City vision?

The main trends are broader information of passengers and efforts to increase safety. At bus and tram stops and inside public transport vehicles, passengers should be informed not only about the sequence of the stops and the name of the stop coming next, but they should also learn what innovations their municipality is preparing. In this respect, our firm offers a system of smart stops and, in collaboration with its affiliation AbiRail s.r.o., a passenger-counting system operatively informing passengers, which the transport operator can use as feedback information on their transport efficiency.

You want to increase your presence in foreign markets. What are the reasons that customers should be using your services?

Foreign markets are very interesting and promising in this area. The answer to your question, however, is rather complicated.

I don´t want it to sound like boasting. Nevertheless, in our case, the customer can be sure that cutting the tape is not the end of the process, but, on the contrary, just its

beginning. Our customer has the assurance of comprehensive support in the form of maintenance, service, and continuous improvement of the system for the duration of its operating lifetime. This is something not everyone will offer today.

You have a lot of foreign reference orders.

Which projects that you realised in the past are among the most important?

Our largest projects are those we carried out in the Czech Republic. As regards foreign orders, our most successful product is the DISTA diagnostic system, which, mainly thanks to the activities of AŽD Praha s.r.o., has found its way to numerous countries in Europe and Asia. Our activities in Georgia and Ukraine are also bearing fruit, but there, regrettably, we are faced with a relatively inflexible system, where everything takes too long.

Which territories are the most important for you as export destinations?

All business opportunities are important to us, we don´t make any differences.

You mentioned the firm AŽD. As a matter of interest, recently you became partners with that company, which has created a strong grouping for your clients. Can you give us some details?

The capital amalgamation of the firms of STARMON s.r.o. and AŽD Praha s.r.o. will help us to increase our competitiveness in foreign markets. This was the main point of the fusion, which has created a strong technological base around AŽD, focused on transport technologies. This will strengthen our presence on the European market and we´ll gladly bring our share of water to the mill.

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SMART CITIES

Smart Cities – Sustainable Mobility, IT, and Effective Territorial Management

Worth mentioning as an example of good practice in Prague is the Golemio data platform. The platform (www.golemio.cz) offers to the public, for example, information about the real-time position of suburban trains and buses, data on the movement of cyclists, real-time data from parking areas, making it possible to estimate the degree of occupancy in paid zones, sensoric data showing the density of the traffic on key communications, sensoric data showing the quality of the air, etc. The data are supplied by different sources and from different areas and comprise traffic information, with data about parking and traffic density, including cycling. Another group is data concerning the environment, waste management, and sensoric data.

The Smart Prague concept comprises a pilot project, “Energy saving using the energy performance contracting (EPC) system”, the | 28

aim of which is to achieve energy saving using EPC in selected buildings owned by the capital of Prague and to apply measures ensuring greater efficiency of the operation of the buildings and greater comfort in their use. For this project, Prague won second prize in the 8th instalment of the competition organised by the Association of Energy Service Providers. Thanks to this project, electricity, gas, heat and water consumption in selected buildings will be reduced by at least 11 per cent.

MORE EXAMPLES OF SMART SOLUTIONS IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC nSMART PARKING SYSTEM –

BENEŠOV

Vehicle drivers aiming for the centre of Benešov no longer have to be going round

and round the town seeking a vacant parking space. This is due to the new smart parking system that will automatically detect a vacancy and inform the driver accordingly on the information boards or the respective application in a mobile phone or tablet, and navigate him to the vacant space. Altogether 155 parking sensors are installed in Benešov. The sensors are fed by battery, ensuring their operation for the duration of 10 years. Information about parking spaces is dispatched to the central database and to the information boards. At the same time, it is displayed on the publicly accessible website www.smart4city.cz.

The Smart4City Parking mobile application is intended for smartphones with iOS and Android operating systems, and is available for free download from App Store and Google Play. The application will remind the user when the time for which he or

Photo: Siemens archives

In the Smart Cities analysis published by Mendel University in Brno, Prague is rated the best as regards the comprehensive and systematic use of the city data in its management. The study was prepared for the Office of the Government of the Czech Republic by the Czech Technological Agency. Other Czech towns, too, were rated relatively highly.

informed about movements in the car parks and can check the payment of parking fees more easily. Besides Benešov, this method of parking fee payment is also available in Kolín, Poděbrady, and other towns. The system has a secondary benefit for the town: in addition to reducing the administrative burden, it can provide statistical information about the use of the different car parks.

This assists the town to see, for example, whether the number of spaces for the handicapped is sufficient, whether the cash-out for parking corresponds to the occupancy of the park and whether the capacity of the park is in keeping with the real needs of residents and visitors.

nKOMPLAN – SOCIAL SERVICES

IN LITOMĚŘICE MOBILE APPLICATION

she has paid will expire and will make it possible to extend the parking fee without the driver having to go back to the car. The parking slip will appear in the user´s e-mail.

The application provides for the visualisation of a monthly tax document summary, a display of all the car parks on the map and it can also navigate the driver to the car park of his choice. The application makes possible payment with up to three bank credit cards and for up to three car registration numbers. After entering the password, a user who has an account with www.smart4city.cz, may check that the payment has been made, and download and print the tax documents for the parking fee paid. The document may be issued either for each parking space separately, or as a monthly tax document summary (saving costs mainly for self-employed persons). The Municipal Police are better

The “Komplan” mobile application, offered by the town of Litoměřice, will quickly and clearly advise people how to solve certain life situations, or where to seek help and whom to address. In this way, Litoměřice is improving its services by making the required information available to its citizens in all age categories. The town mediates information about social services both in print and on its websites, to which it has added a mobile application. The mobile application comprises a service entitled “I need advice”, where, after filling in a form, the citizen will find indicated on the display contacts to the particular officer of the Social Welfare or Healthcare Department of the Municipality, who will assist the enquirer to solve his/her problem. The citizen can further find a calendar of events, topical information, a map of social services, a choice of advice on solving life situations concerning the social sphere and other problems. The data in the application are continuously updated, thanks to their connection to the Communal Planning websites. “Komplan” can be downloaded by all types of smartphone operating systems.

cooperate and share their experiences in the implementation of smart solutions, concerning smart solutions in the area of social, economic, and environmental issues intended to improve the quality of life in towns. In this context, Brno will choose a suitable brownfield locality and suitable solutions for the transformation of the locality into a low-energy district with sustainable municipal transport. The transformation of the selected district will respond to citizens´ needs with respect to the environment and sustainability of the location. The aim of the project is to change towns and cities in accordance with citizens´ needs by using modern technologies and processes. In the course of the RUGGEDISED project, Brno will prepare an investment plan for the locality, which it will start implementing, together with its other partners, in 2022.

nCHRUDIM AS SIGNATORY

OF THE MAYORS´ CONVENTION

The town of Chrudim can be mentioned as a good example of the ability to connect the existing Smart City concept to concepts that have already been implemented. One of the steps taken in this

nRUGGEDISED – BRNO The RUGGEDISED project is a part of the Horizon 2020 programme adopted by the European Union. RUGGEDISED associates six European cities: Rotterdam, Glasgow, Umea, Gdansk, Parma, and Brno. For the duration of five years, these cities will 29 |

process was the town joining the Mayors´ Convention. The Convention is an initiative of the European Commission aimed at reducing CO2 emissions, a commitment of the signatory towns and municipalities to surpass the EU energy policy targets by reducing CO2 emissions and thus increasing energy efficiency and the production and use of purer energy. By joining this initiative, the town has broadened the scope of its previous activities focused on improving the quality of the environment and the health of the people, in keeping with the general strategy of the town. In this connection, the new projects and strategies are targeted at sectors which the town can influence by its activities.

This concerns buildings owned by the municipality, public lighting and transport, especially as regards reducing fuel and energy consumption, a combination with other sustainable energy initiatives, projects prepared in the framework of the Smart Cities concept, projects linked to the climate change adaptation strategy, and support to activities and instruction in | 30

the household and services sector within the framework of the Healthy Town project.

nTARGET AREAS The principal target areas for the implementation of the Smart Cities concept in the Czech Republic are sustainable mobility, information and communication technologies, and efficient territorial management. In this category, projects in the ICT and efficient territorial management areas account for 45 per cent of

the total number of the already realised projects, with projects in the sustainable mobility area accounting for 31 per cent.

Of the total number of the Smart City projects currently in the process of realisation, ICT and efficient territorial management projects account for 28 percent, with sustainable mobility projects currently under construction accounting for 44 per cent. These two target areas also hold a dominant position among projects under preparation, at each of which about one-third of the anticipated Smart City projects is targeted. A positive development is the fact that good practice examples, from the systemic point of view, can also be found at the regional and former district town levels. This group comprises examples of regional centres, such as Brno and Prague, as well as the former district towns, e.g. Kolín, Litoměřice, Písek, Třinec, Tábor, Chomutov, Mladá Boleslav, Prostějov, Opava, Přerov and Příbram. A systemic approach to implementation should be underscored in the case of the town of Třebíč.

Photo: Siemens archives, Fenix Group a.s.

SMART CITIES

CZECH BUSINESS AND TRADE

Fenix Group Is Pushing for Connection to the Smart Grid System Fenix Group a.s. is not only one of the largest Czech electric heating system manufacturers, but also an important firm exporting its products to more than 70 countries the world over. The core of the Group´s production programme is underfloor and ceiling heating systems, outside surface heating systems, eave, gutter and piping defrosting systems, radiant heating panels, including marble and glass panels, and convector heaters. The firm, which nearly 30 years ago was started in a small garage turned into a workshop making electric heating panels, is today a big player in the market with a billion crown turnover.

In 2018, FENIX Group showed a massive growth in revenue. In that year, the Group´s revenue for the first time exceeded the billion-crown mark and amounted to CZK 1 591 billion, 11 per cent more than in 2017.

“Greatly responsible for the record growth was the Czech market, but in spite of this, FENIX continues to be a strongly export-oriented group, with affiliations in seven countries – Slovakia, France, Spain, Great Britain, Norway, Poland, and Germany,” says Cyril Svozil, Director and Owner of the holding. For example, the company is selling its underfloor heating also to Saudi Arabia.

Since 2000, the company has increased its sales of radiant heating panels more than sevenfold, much due to the increasingly growing construction of low-energy houses. “The idea of a fully electrified house with nearly zero energy consumption appeared in 2013. Such a house is connected to the

common distribution network which, at the operator´s command, will reduce the amount of electricity flowing from the grid or will go over to insular mode. We have successfully tested even controlled electricity supply modes. In response to the next command, it may, on the contrary, increase consumption and send the excess energy into battery storage. The integrated roof photovoltaic system can supply 30 per cent of annual consumption,” Cyril Svozil explains. The company exports most of these heaters. To cope with the growing demand, the group has invested more than CZK 50 million in the construction of a building to house robotised painting shops and assembly lines, which will allow it to double the production of radiant heating panels. In 2017, the firm invested another CZK 11 million in the installation of the assembly line and metalworking machines. Fenix Group has bold aims: by 2020 it is planning to put into service an electrified family house with nearly zero energy consumption. It has already tested the project in the building housing their office centre in Jeseník.

n BATTERY STORAGE RESEARCH Energy self-sufficiency? The solution is battery storage. This issue has been tackled by the Group´s AERS affiliation since 2016.

“AERS has developed an original ´in-house´ 10-50 kWh modular battery storage station and in its manufacturing plant in Jeseník it realised a 640 kWh accumulation station.

The overall investment in these two projects was CZK 64 million.” In 2013 FENIX started investing in projects to automate processes in its workplaces and the experience in EXPO 2020 Fenix Trading has become the official partner to the Czech Exhibition of firms participating in EXPO 2020 in Dubai. The theme used by the United Arab Emirates as the motto of the event is “Connecting Minds, Creating the Future”, and FENIX Group will be there, too. In the framework of the rotating exhibition, which will feature the theme “Czech Energy”, to be on display for the whole month of March, FENIX Group will be showing two projects. The first is the model of a 2020 standard house as an active element of

operating them triggered the idea of using the battery storage system so as to eliminate micro-stoppages occurring several times a day and causing breaks in the operation of the technological equipment. The purpose of this system has several basic functions: reducing the reserved maximum of energy consumption by 35 per cent, ensuring the observance of ¼ of hourly maximum without restricting consumption, monitoring continuously the quality of input energy and, in the case of irregularity, ensuring quality supply into the internal grid. “As regards the future, the tendency is expected to be towards combining decentralised energy production, based on renewable sources, with conventional power industry production, based on the use of nuclear energy. To achieve the required flexibility, battery storage will be used on a large scale, both as regards large-capacity electricity consumption and smaller, household and company consumption of electricity during the day at the microlevel inside the building,” Svozil adds. the energy system, where it will display the Fenix energy concept. The second project will be the AES 10 accumulation station of the AERS s.r.o. company. For the whole duration of the international exhibition, i.e. from 20 October 2020 to 10 April 2021, the firm will loan an artefact to the Czech Pavilion, made by Jakub Nepraš and named “Energy Phoenix”. Jakub Nepraš is a visual artist who combines new media in creating what he calls “video sculptures”. He displays his works all over the world and is the holder of several international awards.

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RENEWABLE ENERGY

Ambitions of the Renewable Energy Sources Development Plan in the Czech Republic

| 32

n PROSPECTS OF RENEWABLE

ENERGY SOURCES DEVELOPMENT

An agreement has been made at EU level to raise the renewable sources and energy efficiency targets. The EU member states will have to specify their contribution towards meeting those targets in their integrated energy-climatic plans now under preparation, the first version of which is to be completed by the end of 2019. The target value for the proportion of renewable sources of the energy consumed has been raised from 27 per cent to 32 per cent, which, in the case of electricity in 2030, means a share of more than 50 per cent of energy production from renewable sources, thus reducing the space for conventional power production. According to the 2018 prediction of the Chamber for Renewable Energy Sources, energy production in the Czech Republic using renewable sources should increase by at least one-half by the year 2030. The greatest role in this process will be played by self-producers: households and enterprises that will be generating their own energy, followed by wind and geothermal sources and biomethane. In transport, the expected dominant fuels at the end of the next decade will be advanced biofuels, compressed natural gas (bioCNG) and pure electricity, while the proportion of today´s first-generation biofuels will be stagnant.

n BIOMASS IN THE ENERGY MIX Biomass has the greatest share of energy production from renewable sources and this share is growing steadily, both in Europe as a whole and in the Czech Republic. The share of bio energy production of total energy consumption in the Czech Republic accounts for nearly 14 per cent, according to the calculations of the European Biomass Association. More than four-fifths of all renewable energy in the CR is generated from biomass. Bio energy production will play an important role also in future. This will save the money which would otherwise have to be spent on fossil fuel imports and will offer a domestic alternative to Czech towns and villages suffering from air pollution from residential solid fuel burning, especially in winter.

The same as is the case today, conditions will have to be created for follow-up pro-

jects, such as building greenhouses for all-year-round cultivation of tomatoes or herbs in the vicinity of biogas stations, or heating farm buildings with the use of straw-burning boilers. Czech agriculture has always fulfilled the function of “energy” biomass producer, while ensuring sufficient food supplies. Biomass is also used to make biogas, and its use in transport is being considered.

n BIOMETHANE PRODUCTION

IS A NEW OPPORTUNITY

There are nearly 600 biogas stations operating in the Czech Republic, which is approx. 54 stations per million inhabitants. This figure ranks the Czech Republic third in Europe, after Germany (136) and Switzerland (77). Of this number, about 400 are biogas agricultural stations burning mainly silage corn. Some 100 biogas stations process sewage sludge and only about 20 burn communal and industrial biologically degradable wastes. However, currently all biogas stations, irrespective of the type of input raw material used, have a new opportunity: their own biomethane production. In the Czech Republic, biogas is mainly used for electricity and heat production in cogeneration units.

However, to date, the heat is not being properly used and is often wasted, which greatly reduces the efficiency of biogas stations. The point is that, in addition to electricity and heat production in cogeneration units, biogas can also be used for making biomethane. From biogas, which is a mixture of methane (approx. 60 per cent) and carbon dioxide (approx. 40 per cent), it is possible to isolate nearly pure methane directly in the biogas station and thus obtain biomethane, which is an equivalent of natural gas. Biomethane can either be pressed into the natural gas distribution system, or it can be used as CNG car fuel. The biomethane thus obtained is called BioCNG. BioCNG made from biodegradable wastes is considered an important second-generation biofuel not only in Europe, which in the near future will play an important role in the fuel mix in transport. Brno was the first city in the Czech Republic, where a compressed biomethane (BioCNG)-powered bus appeared plying the streets. In this case, the source of biomethane was biogas from

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The conditions of the Czech Republic Renewable Energy Sources (RES) comprise the use of water, wind, sunshine, biomass and biogas energy, energy of the environment used by heat pumps, geothermal energy and the energy of liquid biofuels. RES account for 12.7 per cent of electricity consumption in the Czech Republic and for less than 11 per cent of its production. As regards renewable sources, the Czech Republic has already met the EU 2020 targets. The country´s national Climate-Energy Plan, which will outline the further development of renewable energy sources, is at the stage of finalisation. The draft, however, does not envisage any further development of solar or wind energy production. Its plan is to meet the EU targets by more massive biomass (e.g. wood) and waste-burning.

CZECH BUSINESS AND TRADE

the city wastewater treatment plant. This was a pilot project, the aim of which was to demonstrate that biologically degradable wastes are a valuable raw material, whose potential should be widely used.

n SOLAR POWER PLANTS

HAVE GOOD PROSPECTS IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC

Of all the renewable energy sources, photovoltaics has the greatest growth potential even in the Czech Republic´s natural conditions. There are two reasons most responsible for this fact: increasing efficiency of production due to the higher efficiency of the solar panels, and the possibility to locate the equipment practically anywhere. The two main photovoltaic markets currently developing in the Czech Republic are small installations on the roofs of family houses and larger installations for manufacturing and business projects. The development of photovoltaics is boosted worldwide by a significant decline in the cost of solar farm installations. In the Czech Republic,

this fact has led to the literally dramatic growth of investment in their construction. In the CR, the number and output of photovoltaic equipment grew until the end of 2010, while the original subsidised purchase price system was in force. The installed output qualifying for subsidy was not capped, which led to the construction of an ever larger number of installations in different parts of the countryside, meaning a practically uncontrolled growth.

This resulted in higher expenses for final consumers and the state subsidising the prices. Therefore, the subsidies were stopped, which consequently caused the halting of further solar panel installation.

This situation lasted until recently, when, thanks to the subsidy programmes of the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of the Environment, photovoltaic installations are once again appearing on the roofs of family houses and company buildings. The conditions for the development of photovoltaics in the Czech Republic are now very favourable. A study commissioned by the professional Solar

Association shows that the potential of roof surfaces suitable for photovoltaic farm installation is up to 7 GWp. Further potential is provided by various brownfields, contaminated or degraded areas, car parks, dump sites, etc. Two photovoltaic markets are currently developing in the Czech Republic, supported by a special subsidy programme. The first segment is family houses, where roof systems with an output of from 3 to 5 kWp (approximately 12 to 16 panels), combined with accumulation in hot water or batteries, will be installed. Both systems are subsidised from the New Green Savings Programme (NZÚ).

The other starting segment is photovoltaic parks for firms. From subsidies provided under the Business and Innovation for Competitiveness Operational Programme (OPPIK), managed by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, applicants may draw up to 80 per cent of eligible costs of photovoltaic systems generating power for the applicant´s own consumption. Here, too, combination with battery accumulation is possible. The falling prices of panel instal33 |

RENEWABLE ENERGY

n PELLET PRODUCTION

IS GROWING STEADILY

Czech pellet manufacturers are experiencing a long period of steady growth, with production capacity increasing in response to growing domestic demand. The number of boilers and stoves used by Czech households has exceeded the 30 000 mark and consumption is some 100 000 tonnes a year. In 2018, the output in the Czech Republic was 377 777 tonnes. The rest is intended for export to Austria, Germany, and | 34

Italy. The largest manufacturers among the 32 Czech pellet mills are Mayr-Melnhof Holz in Paskov (92 000 tonnes a year), followed by Stora Enso sawmill in Ždírec nad Doubravou (77 000 tonnes). Ranking third is Pfeifer Holz with pellet mills in Chanovice and Trhanov (65 000 tonnes).

On aggregate, these three manufacturers are responsible for 64 per cent of the total pellet output in the Czech Republic. “Our sawmill in Paskov is being continuously enlarged. We improve our woodworking technologies and increase the volume of sawn timber and pellet output. Practically no sawdust leaves our works, as all wood waste is turned into pellets. Last year, we invested in a new drying room and this year we have started building another large-capacity pellet silo, which will make it possible to increase our pellet output still further. Within a short time, we´ll increase production to over 100 000 tonnes of certified ENplus A1 pellets a year,” says Franz Schwarzauger, Director of MayrMelnhof Pellets Paskov.

n CZECHS OPERATE AND

MODERNISE HYDROELECTRIC POWER STATIONS IN OTHER COUNTRIES

For the Czech Republic, a country situated in the centre of Europe, watercourses have a specific geographic and economic significance. There are three main European water divides to be found on the territory of the Czech state, which separate the North Sea, the Baltic Sea, and the Black Sea catchment areas. Water has played an essential role in the development of the Czech economy and its export potential.

Although the Czech Republic has no towering mountains or extremely rapid rivers and the potential of electricity generated from water resources is not comparable with the world hydro-energy powers, hydropower engineering has an important tradition in this country. The historically industrial Czech Lands can pride themselves on top-level engineering, a section of which concerns itself with the manufacture of turbines and other wa-

Photo: www.shutterstock.com

lation and, on the contrary, the growing price of power electricity and the distribution component of the resulting price are reasons why photovoltaic systems are quickly increasing their economic rate of return. The efficiency of panel energy production, too, is increasing, and the development of the production technology is accompanied by a longer warranty on panels: the former standard 10-year warranty on the technology has been extended to 15 and even 25 years.

CZECH BUSINESS AND TRADE

ter machines. The industrial tradition of the Czech Lands and their orientation to water – still a globally most important renewable source of energy – form a combination which contributes to the country´s current economic boom. Standing at the outset of the Czech hydro-energy tradition was a world discovery: “The blades of the water turbine must behave like a propeller and the blades must be regulated according to the amount of water flowing through.” This essential finding was formulated by the Austrian inventor, Viktor Kaplan, at the beginning of the 20th century, when he was Assistant Professor at the German Technical University in Brno, the second largest Czech city and metropolis of the historical land of Moravia.

An important aspect of this invention is that, more than 100 years ago, Kaplan succeeded with what today we could call

“commercialisation” of the new turbine project. This happened when a foundry and engineering firm, the company of Ignac Stork, helped Kaplan with furnishing his laboratory and the production of the new Kaplan turbine. All of this was in defiance of large industrial firms which were not willing to risk the loss of their investments in the still dominant Francis turbine. The Brno company first installed the Kaplan turbine in 1919 for a spinning mill in Velm, Austria. This, however, was just the beginning. Shortly after, the Kaplan turbine became an important export article of Czechoslovak, and after the dissolution of Czechoslovakia, of the Czech export trade. Czech firms naturally manufacture also other types of turbines and provide various related engineering services. Although there are much larger waterworks in different parts of the world,

hydropower engineering has played an important part in the Czech Lands in the past. And although its share of total electricity production in the Czech Republic is relatively small, the importance is growing, for example, of pumped storage power stations, which are used to balance out the instability of other renewable sources – photovoltaic and wind power plants.

After the political changes which took place in the Czech Republic in the 1990s, private entrepreneurs began to push their way into the Czech hydropower engineering and the follow-up engineering industry, which until then were the domain of the Czech State. Although at that time the opinion was that the sector was lacking any prospects, these new businessmen did see an opportunity for themselves.

Czech businessmen joined forces, for example, with the Americans and Sloveni-

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ans and together targeted their interests at third markets. For example, the Czech company ENERGO-PRO is currently preparing the manufacture of turbines in Ankara, the capital of Turkey, a country where demand for new energy sources is tremendous as a result of the expected economic boom. Czechs have succeeded in supplying turbines to all continents, one of their specialities being turbines for mini hydroelectric power plants, such as in the case of the Mavel Company. In 2017, for example, Albany Engineering Corporation (AEC) and Mavel, a.s. announced the signing of a Joint Manufacturing and Supply Agreement, commencing a collaborative approach to the design, manufacture, and installation of new generating equipment for four hydroelectric power plants on the Hudson River in New York State. The Agreement involves 17 identical 6-megawatt hydroelectric turbines for the existing Green Island and Mechanicville Hydroelectric Projects and the proposed Thompson and Waterford Hydroelectric Projects. | 36

Firms in the Czech Republic export Kaplan, Francis, Pelton, and other turbines of different design. Their exports go to the states of the European Union and to many more remote countries – Canada, South Korea, Panama, and Uganda. Czech firms manage to compete successfully with growing Asian competition, not only with the quality of their products, but also and mainly with the wide range of their after-sale service. Czech companies also offer project studies and the preparation of project documentation, hydraulic calculations and water machine designs, model testing of water turbines and seismic, vibration, and fatigue tests. They also provide assembly work, assembly supervision, construction management, and the reconstruction and innovation of installed water machines.

n INTERNATIONAL POWER PLANT

OPERATORS

In the past decades, Czech firms, besides exporting water machines and repairing

hydroelectric power plants in different parts of the world, also became engaged in investing in power plants in countries such as Bulgaria, Georgia, and Turkey.

They operate and modernise existing plants or participate in the construction of new ones. EGAP, the state-run insurance company, has supported a number of such projects. One of the countries where Czech investors of the ENERGO-PRO Group constructed their first hydroelectric power stations between 2002 and 2004 was Bulgaria. Later, a number of other Czech firms participated in the reconstruction of Bulgarian water projects, including the famous Sandanska Bistrica cascade power stations. A few years later – between 2007 and 2009 – Czech entrepreneurs focused their attention on a more distant country, Transcaucasian Georgia.

There, ENERGO-PRO gradually became the largest energy company operating on 70 per cent of that country´s area. Czech businessmen began to operate not only 15 Georgian hydroelectric power stations,

Photo: www.pixabay.com

RENEWABLE ENERGY

CZECH BUSINESS AND TRADE

but also the distribution system. There are several more Czech companies building hydroelectric power plants in different parts of Europe. One of them is Hydropol, which is pursuing its activities on a global scale. Its projects include the construction and reconstruction of hydroelectric power stations, engineering and the development of hydroelectric power plants. Since its founding in 1998, Hydropol, originally an engineering firm of two people, has developed into a company employing dozens of engineers, project designers, dealers, and other professionals. Over the two decades of its existence, it has completed more than 80 projects and owns a number of works, including a small hydroelectric power station in Velký Osek.

The project in Velký Osek, completed in 2012, is the only power plant of its size in the Czech Republic built on a slope

of less than 2 metres. Besides the Czech Republic, Hydropol pursues its activities in 10 more countries on 4 continents, during which time it has gained valuable experience. It has its specific solutions for different local conditions, and it knows how to communicate with local authorities and company representatives, how to proceed in specific natural environments and in countries at a different level of economic development, electrification and legislation and regulation, and how to address different special-interest associations. Recently Hydropol has completed and handed over a new 2-megawatt hydroelectric power station to the Liberian Agriculture Company. In previous years, Hydropol completed several structures in Romania, Bulgaria, and Macedonia. In Romania, it has built the country’s largest power station to date, with an output of

22 megawatts. This involved the reconstruction of historical waterworks dating from the beginning of the 20th century.

Hydropol´s presence in the Indonesian hydro-energy market dates back to 2013.

In the past few years, Indonesia has been trying to free itself of its dependence on crude oil and coal, but the way to building an environment suitable for the development of renewable energy sources is complicated and demanding. Indonesia takes great consideration of what its people and industry can afford. The company is therefore building just one reference project in Indonesia, in order to open the door to future business opportunities. On the South American subcontinent, Hydropol is planning to develop their own sources in Columbia, where they would like to build medium-sized projects with an aggregate output of between 10 and 20 megawatts.

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„Optical cables from Děčín connect the whole world. And there will be many more.“ Thanks to large investments in the past years, we have strengthened KDP is our position amongst European leaders. In 2018, we produced more r lia a re ble partne than 31 thousand kilometers of optical cables and 64 thousand al ob gl y an m of kilometers of metallic cables. We have big plans for the future and communications le te we expect further increase in production of optical cables. We are network an attractive company for young engineers as we can offer them providers excellent background for further personal development and growth.

Ing. Lenka Mádlová, Sales Director

Former Bergmann cable plants

KABELOVNA is a given certainty Bergmann plants were established in the newly built industrial zone, on the grounds of Rozbělesy village. The wise incentive of the former municipal council of Podmokly was successful, as extensive construction works had been initiated already in 1909.

One year later, literally on a green field, a modern eletrotechnical plant was developed, which was the largest industrial company of the former district of Děčín at that time. The entire site consisted of

KABELOVNA Děčín Podmokly today

individual production areas: foundry, rolling mill, cable works and engineering plant.

Later, the company was divided into several companies. Since then, KABELOVNA has experienced many owners. Today it is a part of the important cable family Wilms Group, which allows KABELOVNA to further invest and grow even more.

Modern machinery for cable production

Stringent European standards The current KABELOVNA is a modern company that can produce even very complex cable designs and successfully sell them to the whole world. „Continuous innovations in the design of cables are not only required by our demanding customers, but also by stringent standards,“ says Lenka Mádlová. „Because our cables are also used in construction industry, they are covered by the Construction Products Regulation (CPR). This regulation stipulates how the cable is affected at combustion. CPR has 7 classes of reaction to fire, with class A being the strictest in flame retardant limits and class F on the other hand is the least stringent.

In the first phase, our cables were successfully tested by an accredited testing laboratory as compliant with class E. At present, all our efforts are aimed at meeting the requirements of higher classes. We truly believe this will

help us to contribute to greater fire safety of buildings and - in case of fire - our products will facilitate saving lives, health and property“.

We conquer the world The increase in optical fibers production by almost 100% (year 2017: 406 thousand, year 2018: 810 thousand) is a clear evidence of big plans. „Europe already knows and uses our cables. We are therefore expanding to Asia and Africa, as these regions offer great sales potential. Besides optical and metallic cables, we also deliver metallic cable assemblies. We are able to make cables as well as cable assemblies in top quality and at reasonable prices. „We have been doing this for 109 years, so we really have the knowledge,“ adds the sales director with a smile on her face.

We make cables since 1910

KABELOVNA Děčín Podmokly, s.r.o. I Ústecká 840/33, 405 33 Děčín I E-mail: sales@kabelovna.cz I www.kabelovna.cz

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World connecting cables

Manufacturer of optical and copper cables, cable assemblies and heating systems KABELOVNA Děčín Podmokly, s.r.o. Ústecká 840/33 I 405 33 Děčín, Czech Republic E-mail: sales@kabelovna.cz www.kabelovna.cz | 40