The NCC for MATCA (National Centre of Competence for Materials, Advanced Technologies, Coatings and their Applications) co-financed with the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic’s (TA CR) state support within the National Centres of Competence Programme, has received the highest possible rating from the TA CR panel for the first phase of its existence lasting from 2019 to the end of 2022. During the period, the Centre completed 17 projects and implemented 41 outputs.
The evaluation panel examined the fulfilment of the project objectives, its most important results, the benefits for the research institutes or the collaboration in the consortium after the end of the project, as well as the commercial use of the results and the income from their commercialisation or their use in practice.
"NCC for MATCA is one of the most successful projects we have launched at the Institute of Physics. After the last year's victory in the Partnership category of the TA CR awards, it is another significant success and a confirmation of the correct direction of our operation. We are also extremely pleased with the number of successfully completed projects, which enables which Czech companies to benefit from the scientific and technological progress that has emerged from the academic sphere," said Alexandr Dejneka, Head of the Division of Optics of the Institute of Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences and Principal Investigator of NCC for MATCA.
“The significance of this project lies in the involvement of the best Czech academic institutions in researching specific applications and innovations for advanced manufacturing. The progress of industrial fields is not only based on automation or robotics, but is the result of the cooperation of a number of specialists, often with very different backgrounds. I am glad that last year it was this particular project that the expert committee selected to receive the TA CR Award in the Partnership category," said Petr Konvalinka, Chairman of the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic.
The main objectives of the project are to accelerate the development and industrial scale-up of plasma, laser and additive technologies, to introduce the results into serial production, to expand the knowledge base of the research institutes and to support the development of young and promising scientists, including their integration into applied research and development.
"On a daily basis, our team of experts interconnects academic institutions with companies that are transferred the cutting-edge know-how that is being developed here. This enables us to improve the world around us and to promote technological progress. I am glad that our efforts are appreciated by TA CR. My thanks go to the whole team involved in the NCC for MATCA operation," said Tomáš Jetmar, General Manager of NCC for MATCA.
NCC for MATCA’s mission is to deliver technological solutions regardless of the complexity of the task – from sudden problems in production to long-term societal challenges. The NCC for MATCA's deliverables involved 23 partner institutions from both academia and the private sector: Institute of Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Plasma Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Thermomechanics, the Institute of Physical Chemistry of J. Heyrovsky, Central Bohemian Innovation Centre, Institute of Hydrodynamics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Palacky University in Olomouc, Technical University of Liberec, University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice, Centrum Hydraulického výzkumu spol. s.r.o., HVM Plasma, s.r.o., Beneš a Lát, L.E.T. Optomechanika Praha, CZUB, CARDAM Solution s.r.o., SIGMA výzkumný a vývojový ústav s.r.o., Vakuum servis s.r.o., OZM Research, Fakultní nemocnice v Motole (hospital), SHM, s.r.o., ad-tech s.r.o., Advanced Metal Powders s.r.o.