NATIONAL CENTRE FOR INDUSTRIAL 3D PRINTING IS BEING ESTABLISHED IN LIBEREC

The National Centre of Competence for Industrial 3D Printing of Polymeric Materials will be established at the Technical University of Liberec with an emphasis on promoting environmentally and energy efficient production. Four units of the Technical University of Liberec - CXI, FS, FT and FM with their partners - have jointly received support for the creation of the NCK. As of January 2023, a centre for the efficient use and recycling of raw materials and the use of waste natural and synthetic materials in production will be established in Liberec. The Technical University of Liberec and its partners will establish a strong research programme in the proposed centre for the efficient ecological use of raw materials and energy, as well as for increasing the contribution of additive technologies to industry.

The research will cover a range of interdisciplinary topics in the field of more environmentally and energy efficient production with the aim of increasing the potential of additive technologies, enabling the development of materials with specific properties and new products, innovative technologies and exploiting the potential of digitisation. The concept of the centre is in line with the objectives of the Green Deal and the circular economy, with an emphasis on a cradle-to-cradle approach, efficient use of raw materials and their recycling, and the use of waste natural and synthetic materials.

"With the centre, I believe that we will be able to take not only 3D printing itself, but also the field of sustainable materials and digitised manufacturing, which will be resource and energy efficient, a step further together with our industrial partners. This is where we see a way for research organisations to effectively connect with industry to solve specific problems," says Jiří Šafka, NCK Head of Industrial 3D Printing.

The six-year project was supported by the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic with a grant of more than CZK 280 million.

An important part of the NCK is CEITEC BUT, which brings knowledge from decades of excellent basic materials research (in the past supported by e.g. GAČR EXPRO or ERC-CZ) into applied results that benefit individual companies and advance their competence within Europe and the world.

"Our long-standing know-how within materials and 3D printing has great potential to make a significant contribution to the development and applications in 3D printing in industrial companies and to contribute significantly to their competence," says Prof. Martin Pumera, member of the NCK Board and head of the Future Energy and Innovation research group at CEITEC BUT. "The cooperation of the research and production partners of this NCK consortium is a prerequisite for the practical transformation of our fundamental knowledge about natural materials into products with unique parameters unattainable by other technologies," adds Prof. Josef Jančář, who leads the Advanced Polymer Materials Group at CEITEC BUT.

The interdisciplinary networking of research organisations and industry leaders will enable the sharing of know-how and a multiplier effect. This will contribute to the long-term and sustainable development of additive technologies in the Czech Republic and increase its competitiveness.

The project involves 26 partners. These are the following Czech major research organisations and industrial companies:

ŠKODA AUTO a.s.

Entry Engineering s.r.o.

Prusa Development a.s.

Prusa Polymers a.s.

Narran s.r.o.

Červenka Consulting s.r.o.

ŠKODA AUTO VYSOKÁ ŠKOLA o.p.s.

Vysoké učení technické v Brně

Siemens, s.r.o.

Vysoká škola chemicko-technologická v Praze

České vysoké učení technické v Praze

ORLEN UniCRE a.s.

Krajská nemocnice Liberec, a.s.

Dřevoplast Ludvík s.r.o.

Azu design s.r.o.

Clean - air s.r.o.

Brainhot Technologies, s.r.o.

ARIES, a.s.

TriLAB Group s.r.o.

Meretech s.r.o.

ProSpon, spol. s r.o.

IQS nano s.r.o.

Scoolpt s.r.o.

GZR plast s.r.o.

Electroforming s.r.o.

A total of 44 project proposals were submitted to the National Centres of Competence public call for proposals, 18 of which were supported.