One million visitors at the Czech pavilion at EXPO 2020 Dubai

Connecting minds, creating the future. This is the motto of the current World Expo, which opened to visitors with a one-year delay in autumn 2021 in Dubai. More than one million visitors have already seen the Czech pavilion, which also features the latest research and smart technologies from institutes of the Czech Academy of Sciences.

Some readers may remember the success of the Czechoslovak pavilion at Expo 58 in Brussels. Later, it also influenced the cultural history of our country. The Czechoslovak pavilion and its exposition made quite the impression on visitors, and it even received the highest award – the Golden Star.

The tradition of world expositions spans more than 150 years. This year’s Expo is the first to take place in a Middle East, Africa and/or South Asia region – specifically in Dubai, the largest city in the United Arab Emirates. Expos are held every five years and last up to six months. Expo 2020 Dubai runs from 1 October 2021 to 31 March 2022.

The Czech Academy of Sciences is not a newcomer to the Expo; its institutes have also participated in world expos in Shanghai, China (2010) and Milan, Italy (2015). This time, the Academy is represented on the Arabian Peninsula by six institutes with exhibits teeming with smart technologies.

The Czech pavilion a favourite
Nearly 200 pavilions with participation from more than 190 countries spanning a total area of 438 hectares focus mainly on sustainability, mobility, and new opportunities. Each country offers different exhibits and “competes” with other exhibitors for the attention of the audience. The Czech pavilion, in front of which the Ukrainian flag has been flying alongside the Czech one since 24 February, has garnered a lot of interest during the Expo, attracting more than one million visitors.

The Ukrainian flag flown in front of the Czech pavilion in support of Ukraine.

The Czech pavilion makes up one of three sections which are based on the principle of sustainability. The entrance component above the desert garden comprises a cloud of stainless-steel pipes in the form of capillaries that flow into the interior. The ground floor of the pavilion features the S.A.W.E.R. system, developed by the Czech Technical University in Prague (CTU) with the Institute of Botany of the CAS (IB).

The pavilion is partially self-sufficient in terms of water. The S.A.W.E.R. cooling apparatus produces water by condensing hot desert air, possessing the ability to extract tens of litres of water per day. It is then used for activities like cooking, washing, and flushing.

“At the Expo, you will come cross many pavilions that present flora in some way. For instance, the neighbouring Singapore pavilion has created a convincing imitation of a rainforest using 80,000 potted plants. But not many people know that a quarter of them had to be replaced during the course of the Expo,” Jan Wild, the director of the Institute of Botany of the CAS, points out. He is pleased that, thanks to the technologies used and the experience of the IB staff, the vegetation in the Czech pavilion is really growing naturally – even flourishing – thus putting it in line with the theme of this part of the exposition, which is sustainability.

Quenching thirst in the desert
The biological part of the S.A.W.E.R. system was designed and installed by the Institute of Botany of the CAS. The cultivation system is controlled remotely from the Czech Republic. Miroslav Vosátka, who was involved in the project, explains that it is unique because it is positioned about forty centimetres below the soil surface. “The cultivation system eliminates most of the water vapour and saves about fifty percent of the irrigation water. Covering an area of approximately 500 square metres, the garden combines several technologies and approaches that together enable the cultivation of plants in the given environment.”

By means of an underground niche, the permanent exposition of the Institute of Botany also demonstrates a desert oasis. Two tubes showcase how roots grow and how sand is transformed by the formation of an organic layer. In the niche, visitors can also watch unique time-lapse videos about the effect of organisms on the decomposition of organic matter and the growth of fungi and roots in soil.

The preparations were not easy. “We spent about three months in Dubai with the gardeners. The main challenge was preparing everything in parallel with the construction of the pavilion. Normally, you build the house first and then plant the garden. This was not the case here and we were often clashing with the ongoing construction,” Miroslav Vosátka explains.

Additional problems were brought about by COVID-19 and the postponement of the Expo until 2021. However, the Institute of Botany had already ordered all the plants they needed to plant on 15 March 2020. Instead of planting, the scientists had to take the last plane back to Prague and did not return until a year later: “We also had to plant part of the garden a month before the exhibition started, at temperatures above 48 °C. It was difficult for everyone – plants included,” Vosátka recalls.

It remains to be seen in what ways the new technology of the IB and the CTU will be used. But the S.A.W.E.R. system is already being tested in the United Arab Emirates. “I believe that this is precisely where it can find its use,” Vosátka adds.

An oasis in the desert
“Photovoltaics supply energy for the system that condenses water from the desert air. The water is then enriched with an organic component from vermicompost. In the water, green microscopic algae are being cultivated right in front of visitors on cascading cultivation platforms originally developed at our institute,” says Ondřej Prášil, head of the ALGATECH Centre, a Třeboň-based facility of the Institute of Microbiology of the CAS. It is this algae water that is used to water the plants planted by the Institute of Botany in the desert in front of the Czech pavilion. “Their growth is facilitated by mycorrhizal soil cultures and biochar incorporated into the sand. This revives the desert soil so that it becomes suitable for cultivation,” Vosátka notes.

The Institute of Microbiology presented a glass photobioreactor as a permanent exhibit of the outdoor exposition at the Czech pavilion. Taking on the form of a palm tree, Alga Oasis is an artistic representation of a photobioreactor model for growing algae, which are a nutritionally rich source of food.

Microscopic algae are like a small factory that produces valuable substances for modern biotechnology. Algae can be used to facilitate many of today’s challenges – for instance, the lack of quality food. This gave rise to the idea of presenting this process artistically. The design also aptly tied in with the theme of the Expo: “connecting minds, creating the future”.

“As far as the concept, scientific research, and art design are concerned, the exhibit is exceptional. It is an excellent representation of our cutting-edge research,” says Eva Zažímalová, President of the Czech Academy of Sciences.

Jiří Hašek, Director of the Institute of Microbiology of the CAS, adds that the production of Alga Oasis took more than a year. “The preparations were demanding, but I am pleased that we can present a successful field of Czech science which our institute focuses on.”

Each component of the photobioreactor was created specifically for this project to withstand the extreme conditions of the outdoor environment of the Arabian Peninsula. Hašek explains that it represents the possibilities of microbial, especially algal biotechnology: “The exhibit – which is part of the Czech pavilion for the duration of the Expo – stands at a height of almost four metres, is made of glass tubes, and lights up at dusk. The circular central strip with its backlit pictograms symbolically depicts photosynthesis and its importance for life, including the possible uses of algal biotechnology.”

When sensors detect that a visitor has approached the sculpture, the glass tubes filled with water begin to bubble and turn green as a symbol of the growth and movement of microscopic algae. Visitors can play a video by scanning the QR code and learn details about the research and use of algae.

Algae are also showcased in the Austrian exposition. The Institute of Microbiology of the CAS has cooperated with the IMC Fachhochschule Krems on a project in which algae are used to extract rare earth elements from industrial waste.

You can read more about the Czech participation at Expo 2020 Dubai in this article:

At Expo 2020, algae show their potential for plants and people

Text: Luděk Svoboda, Division of External Relations, CAS Centre of Administration and Operations
Photo: Tomáš Kopecký, Division of External Relations, CAS Centre of Administration and Operations, www.czexpo.com

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