Our colleague, Marton Virt, has completed a one-month visit to the Catalysis Research and Technology Institute (IKFT) at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) to discuss new possibilities for research collaboration in the field of advanced fuels. During the successful visit, two long-term collaboration opportunities were identified, based on IKFT’s advanced fuel synthesis technologies and our department’s decades of experience in engine testbed research. In our new researches, we will conduct engine tests with the special compounds produced by IKFT, and we also start to develop an AI-based predictive tool to provide useful guidance in designing these compounds. As one of the initial steps in the active collaboration, the institute conducted analyses of several fuel samples that we use in our current research.

In addition to exploring collaboration opportunities, experience sharing took place, during which the institute demonstrated its innovative oxymethylene ether production technologies, as well as the KIT Bioliq® plant, where a unique amount of synthetic gasoline can be produced among European universities. They also introduced the KIT engine testbed infrastructure, which can provide useful guidance for our own infrastructure developments.

The 1st Tunisian-Hungarian Research Day was organized by the Hungarian Embassy in Tunis, with four focus areas. Cognitive tools and approaches are reshaping one of the pillars of our society: the mobility. These tools increase efficiency and, if used consciously, can help make mobility more sustainable. In addition to presenting general trends, projects of leading Hungarian research laboratories (National Laboratory for Autonomous Vehicles, National Laboratory for Artificial Intelligence, SZTAKI, BME MIT, BME GJT) were also presented. We hope that more collaborations can be initiated through Research Day.

Several series of articles examine the effects of the growing presence of battery production in Hungary related to the spread of electromobility. Máté Zöldy, head of the Innovative Vehicle Technologies research group, among several experts who spoke about real similarities and differences with the automotive industry, highlighted that several of the Hungarian subsidiaries of German companies carry out significant research and development in our country on an international scale.

The measurement preparation and evaluation space of the Innovative Vehicle Technologies Competence Center was nominated in the “Commercial space” category in the office of the year competition, together with the Bosch Innovation Center. The application highlights the original, valuable and pleasant environment that was created, and that it strives for the unity of practical aspects, innovation and sustainability.