Exactly two years ago, during the 1st 3W Congress, Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego (BGK) started a discussion on water, hydrogen and carbon as three life resources. This was the beginning of the 3W Idea. Today, the 3W initiative is an extensive leading integration and support platform for projects focused on the development of modern technologies for manufacturing industry and energy and medicine sectors.
How did we move from the idea focused around three resources of the future - water, hydrogen and carbon - to the implementation? Please read our summary on the occasion the second anniversary of the 3W Idea.
Growing 3W business ecosystem
The essence of the 3W Idea is to strengthen cooperation and increase interaction between all participants of the 3W ecosystem: scientists, entrepreneurs and representatives of the administration and society. Cooperation with the business world has been an essential element of the 3W Idea from the very beginning. According to the Report we published in 2022, 3W is a rapidly growing branch of the economy. Its value in Poland and in Europe is currently USD 4.86 billion and USD 66.49 billion, respectively.
Over two years, the 3W ecosystem has been joined by over a hundred companies and institutions that implement and develop technologies related to water, hydrogen and modern carbon technologies. The 3W Idea brings together outstanding experts whose work contributes to the development of modern 3W technologies and promotes Polish technological solutions abroad. Their support and commitment make the 3W world stronger. The 3W ecosystem promotes partnerships and cooperation, both at the operational and strategic level. This shows how cohesive and synergistic the 3W community is.
Strengthening the 3W Council
The first and most important "W” is an abbreviation for water because it is a resource that must be treated with exceptional care. That is why we have strengthened the competences of the 3W Council in this regard by inviting Paweł Przygrodzki, D. SC., Director of the Centre for Hydrological Protection of the Country at the Institute of Meteorology and Water Management - IMGW PIB. The last meeting of the Council was devoted to the Blue Deal issues related to systemic water management in Poland and the possibilities of close cooperation of all institutions whose activities are related to this precious resource.
The members of the Council are ambassadors of the 3W Idea, highly active in their environments. They support the development of the initiative, give opinions on the directions of socio-economic development in the area of water, hydrogen and new carbon technologies, and also give directions for activities undertaken – among others – by the 3W Interdisciplinary Innovation Centre.
Education in the spirit of 3W
The concept of the 3W Idea is focused on building ecological awareness of the society and the importance of everyday choices. We operate in many ways, e.g. by organizing workshops in schools and competitions for students and producing educational films. In primary schools, we educate students why water, hydrogen and carbon are so important for a sustainable and better future. We share our 3W animations: a man in a 3W world, how to save water, carbon has many names and hydrogen as the fuel of the future, and conduct experiments with testing filtering capacity of activated carbon and organize a quiz with prizes.
We also got involved in the nationwide Student Nobel scholarship competition, where a special prize in the 3W category was received by Michał Cichowicz, the author of the project of a biomechanical human lower limb prosthesis made of biodegradable materials based on carbon and hydrogen. In cooperation with Dziennik Gazeta Prawna, we announced the next edition of the competition for the best bachelor's, master's and engineering thesis, which concerns modern solutions in the 3W area.
Since the beginning of the new academic year, we are starting the 3W Student Science Club. It is going to be the first inter-university club in Poland for visionaries and enthusiasts of modern technologies related to water, hydrogen and carbon. Students, with the support of 3W world partners, will have an opportunity to exchange their knowledge and experience, broaden horizons and develop interesting development projects in the country and abroad.
Educational animations, workshops, scientific experiments, nationwide competitions for the best diploma theses are just some of the activities in which the 3W Idea has been involved in the last two years. Regular meetings with students, promotion of young talents, applications for internships and apprenticeships in 3W companies show great interest of young people in the 3W sector.\
3W Congress - meeting experts, exchange of experiences, building relationships
The 3W Congress has been on the list of the most important industry events for two years. This is the largest meeting of experts in technologies related to water, hydrogen and carbon in Poland and this part of Europe. The Congress is also a place to discuss the possibilities offered by innovative 3W technologies, develop business relations and establish partnerships. Last year's edition gathered nearly 100 outstanding speakers and almost 500 listeners (click here to watch the Report).
This year, the third 3W Congress will be held in Warsaw on November 27 and 28. We will talk about developing the mission of a 3W ecosystem building, how the 3W sector is growing and what challenges it faces. We will also learn more about the directions of technological trends related to water, hydrogen and carbon.
The leitmotif of the event this year is carbon and technologies related to it used in medicine, IT, defence and space industries. The attention will be also focused on the topics related to the sustainable management of water resources and their protection. We will discuss what the hydrogen-powered future might look like and look at solutions successfully used in other countries. We will present the results of analyses and reports on 3W technology and the development of our sector. We will also show the most interesting 3W projects implemented by local governments and talk about the opportunities that local authorities see for the development of the region resulting from their involvement in projects in the field of water, hydrogen and carbon.
Registration of participants is now available at: www.kongres3w.pl.
3W Interdisciplinary Innovation Centre
The 3W Interdisciplinary Innovation Centre (ICI 3W) actively acts to develop cooperation between the world of science and business in the field of water, hydrogen and carbon, and accelerates and facilitates the commercialization of modern technologies in the area of these three resources. The founders of ICI 3W in 2021 include 11 technical colleges and universities and the Łukasiewicz Research Network. Today, ICI 3W consists of 30 scientific entities from all over Poland. Their representatives are working on projects important for the Polish economy. They are preparing assumptions for a hydrogen certification system that would not only confirm its origin, but also enable monitoring of the production process in terms of greenhouse gas emissions. This is a crucial step on the way to safe and clean energy and a key stage in the process of hydrogenation of the Polish economy.
The 3W technology validation project will soon see the light of day. It is a process of authenticating a technology or product in terms of compliance with the 3W Idea. It will be conducted by experts from ICI 3W in cooperation with external laboratories to check the actual technical parameters of the submitted product and/or technologies. Product and technologies meeting the declared technical parameters and compliant with the assumptions of the 3W Idea receive 3W certificates.
Activities
We have also tried to create an interface for dialogue between science, business, administration and society, because we believe that mutual relations and cooperation are the foundation of a competitive advantage. We were present at the largest and most important industry events, e.g. Impact, POLECO, H2Poland, TOGETAIR, Local Trends, Forum G2. We have also participated in the World Water Week in Stockholm, where we invited companies from the 3W world to the 3W panel, enabling them to present their technologies to an international audience.
We get involved in projects important to local communities. In cooperation with the Ścieki Polskie company, we conducted the first in Poland research of the state of technological advancement of sewage collection stations. Technical and technological delays, unfulfilled legal requirements, shortages of equipment and incorrect recording of sewage are just some of the problems of the stations. The full report is available at www.badanie.zlewnia.online. In the aftermath of the report the sewage collection station in Krasny Staw was selected to be modernized, focusing on meeting the registration requirements, control of wastewater types and airtightness of the discharge, and it will become a model sewage collection station for other such plant in Poland.
We pay a lot of attention to water, because we believe that caring for its purity and availability directly translates into the quality of our health and life. Under the 3W Idea, we are constantly looking for novel solutions to be used in a reasonable and appropriate way. That is why we visited Łomazy in the province of Lublin. The mayor of the commune emphasized that saving water is not only the competence of local authorities. The key is the involvement of all residents who can contribute to reducing water consumption changing their daily habits. In cooperation with the 3W Idea, the commune will install aerators in all public administration buildings. This will save you up to 60% of water!
3W platform – competence centre
Since the beginning of the year, work has been underway on the preparation and implementation of the 3W platform. This is the first Internet platform of this type in Poland, which will connect business, science and public sectors. It will open completely new possibilities for cooperation, implementation and commercialization of ambitious projects in innovative technological and business formats with useful and effective support from the world of science.
The 3W platform is a centre of competence to exchange knowledge and experience, both for beginners and industry leaders. It will enable and facilitate the establishment of cooperation and partnerships, including international level, which will allow for the commercialization of innovative projects in the field of water, hydrogen and carbon. Registered users will have constant access to reports, studies, analyses and specialist, opinion-forming and research articles, and above all to experts from the 3W Interdisciplinary Innovation Centre.
Today, two years after the establishment of the 3W initiative, we believe that is not just a project, but also a lifestyle. It has also become a platform integrating and supporting the development of modern 3W technologies that can have a key impact not only on our everyday life, but also the sustainable future and well-being of future generations.
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