Boosting Poland’s competitive edge through R&D in technology
For a country that brought us renowned scientists that include Copernicus, Marie Curie and Johannes Hevelius, Poland’s traditions of academic education and science stretch back even beyond the 14th Century with the establishment of the Cracow Academy. Today, with over 500 institutions for further education, Polish research and development (R&D) has never been stronger. A major reform for the administration of Polish science, prepared by the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education in 2010, allowed Poland to seek better conditions for researchers, especially junior scientists, in order to establish a pool of well-trained, talented researchers for modern laboratories, and national and international research groups or projects. And this is where the EIB comes in!
With a focus on maintaining a competitive edge and a high standard for scientific investigation, Polish research centres and universities are investing in R&D initiatives to help fund their developments. Over the last eleven years the EIB has been aiding the new Polish reform in science with financial support for R&D activities in different sectors of the scientific community. Since 2004, via 14 loans we have extended almost EUR 5.5bn to the Polish R&D. And these investments are starting to bear fruit.
UIR Scanners for non-destructive evaluations of concrete structures
Non-destructive testing (NDT) consist of analysis techniques used for scientific and industrial purposes to evaluate the properties of materials without damaging them. This method can be used to search for flaws and defects in aircrafts, buildings, heavy platforms, bridges or vehicles, which makes NDT a valuable asset for preventing accidents, all the while reducing costs and improving reliability.
An EIB funded Research Development Innovation (RDI) project at the Warsaw University of Technology has helped develop a mobile integrated UIR scanner for complex non-destructive evaluations of large area concrete plate structures. With progressive NDT methods and advanced data analysis, the new scanner overcomes the disadvantages of manual testing and enables the scanning of large areas. Via the use of new impact-echo wave compression measuring methods; Ultrasonic Pulse Velocity (UPV) and Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR), the UIR scanner can give information or repair criteria and evaluate the quality of industrial floors, road pavements, bridge decks and other concrete plate elements.
Intelligent System for Monitoring and Penalising Overloaded Vehicles
The main cause of road infrastructure damage is attributed to the increasing number of heavy-weight trucks that travel along them. An EIB backed project with the Road and Bridge Research Institute in Warsaw helped to develop a unique system to detect the overloaded vehicles in motion, and even introduce penalties!
The research programme focused on the creation of a new, multi modal measurement system that improved the accuracy for weighing, tracking and monitoring parameters.
The research resulted in a new product on the European market which will directly benefit road maintenance and safety services. The system is being installed around Poland, as well as Germany and the Czech Republic, and licencing rights are set to be sold to USA and Australia.
Electron microprobe for ultra-precise measurements of chemical compositions
At the end of 2014, an EIB loan helped the Faculty of Geology of the University of Warsaw finalise what has been its biggest investment in its scientific infrastructure to date. The purchase of an electron microprobe equipped with a field emission gun for ultra-precise and quick measurements of chemical compounds was granted by the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education and manufactured by Cameca, a French producer renowned for its sophisticated measurement equipment.
What exactly is an electron microprobe? It is a very refined tool that determines the chemical composition of even the smallest volumes of solid material. It is used in numerous fields, such as archaeology, mineralogy, palaeontology, arts and even medicine.
The Cameca SX Five FE has very high sensitivity, with a threefold increase in count rate compared to current models, and allows extremely precise analysis of the chemical composition of solid materials in very small volumes. And why is this important? Just one of the reasons is that it allows us to decipher the conditions of rock formation that help us to understand the geological history of the Earth, as well as investigating new materials. And for the university this has meant competitive advantage and collaboration between departments who want to use the new apparatus to further their own studies. As a result of the success of this project, scientists from eight countries want to work on joint projects with the new equipment!
State-of-the-art equipment in Nanotechnology
During 2013, the Jerzy Haber Institute of Catalysis and Surface Chemistry in the Polish Academy of Sciences purchased a range of scientific equipment to provide the Laboratory of Bio-encapsulation and Nanotechnology of the Institute with advanced analytic tools. One of these new tools was a high class, super resolution confocal microscope LSM780.
The state-of-the-art microscope can resolve nanometre size objects and possesses a variety of fluorescent techniques as well as instruments that allow simultaneous monitoring of adsorption and analysis of electrochemical reactions. When you put all this together you get a unique instrument can be used to conduct research in the field of soft matter adsorption on solid liquid interfaces, and to carry out a wide range of studies at the frontier of nanotechnology and life science.
The EIB funded investment makes the Jerzy Haber Institute one of the best equipped scientific units in Poland. The new ability to carry out high level research has added competitive weight within the European scientific market. And Poland is keen to share its new capacity! The microscope will be accessible to Polish and international scientists cooperating with the Institute.
Researching crystallisation methods to obtain highest quality crystal
Modern electronics are founded on semiconductors. Gallium nitride (GaN) is a semiconductor that is applied in LEDs for various applications including LED displays, lighting and the light source for Blu-ray disc drives. As one can imagine, the demand for high quality crystals is ever increasing. A perfect crystal growth process for forming perfectly pure boules of GaN would provide a cheap and ideal foundation for manufacturing LEDs, lasers and power electronics.
But the perfect growth process seemed to be out of grasp and so GaN device manufacturers had to resort to imperfect platforms that lead to inferior material quality. An EIB funded research project by the Institute of High Pressure Physics at the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw investigated the growth process of high purity and structural quality GaN via specific crystallisation methods through a growth technique called Hydride Vapour Phase Epitaxy (HVPE).
The research enabled investigators to obtain of HVPE-GaN crystals of the highest structural quality and the highest purity in the world, whilst additionally creating new opportunities more efficient production of bulk GaN. So we can watch this space for what might be possible as a result!
