Applied Energy Research in Finland

‘how to keep the combustion engine technology alive with successful cross-sector collaboration.

This extremely interesting online seminar was run on Monday 20th February – 4pm – 5pm AEDT | 7am – 8am CEST. It attracted a global audience who raised very interesting questions during the Q&A. 

Seminar Description: How to get million-dollar funding for a research direction that is considered extinct. How to turn this funding into world-class scientific achievements when most people think that technology reached its limits? How to make these achievements into a solution that solves real-world problems? … and how to make it happen in a tiny university, from a country with fewer inhabitants than Melbourne alone. I hope that my technology-soaked (hey, I’m hard-core engineering after all 😊) presentation will challenge your view on the roles of academia and your vision for the future of energy and transport. A keen eye can catch some good practices for organizing successful industry-academia collaboration.

Presenter: Professor Maciej Mikulski, University of Vaasa (OpenInnoTrain Secondee. See ‘About the Presenter’ below)

Facilitator: Professor Xavier Mulet, Director, Advanced Materials, Manufacturing and Fabrication Enabling Impact Platform, RMIT University, Melbourne Australia

About the Presenter:

Prof. Maciej Mikulski is leading a 31-person integrated-powertrain research team at the University of Vaasa and working as Principle Scientist in the VEBIC large-bore engine laboratory (Finland). He has 16 years of professional experience in combustion engine/powertrains research in industry and academia. He has worked on several relevant engine/fuel development projects with the world’s leading automotive, marine and off-road OEMs and co-established the first full-load capable, ultra-efficient RCCI gas engine. For his research on low-temperature combustion, he was recently honored with the Finish Chamber of Commerce award.

Currently, his main research efforts are directed towards supporting the Finish powertrain industry to attain the 2050 GHG reduction targets. To this end, he closely collaborates with leading marine and off-road engine/after-treatment manufacturers (Wartsila, Agco Power, Dinex), Fuel companies (Neste, Lotos, Total) shipyards (Mayer-Turku), and shipping companies (Vasa-Line) to provide market-feasible next generation marine powertrain solutions. He is currently (2020-2025), amongst others, a principal investigator and consortium leader in 2 major (over 25M€ in total founding) research projects involving the marine and off-road sector: CLEAN PROPULSION TECHNOLOGY and SILENTENGINE. He is involved in shaping the Wartsila Zero-Emission Marine roadmap as WP leader in several projects of this ecosystem.