FROM TYRES
TO USEFUL
GRANULES
JAK ŠKODA AUTO NAPOMÁHÁ
EKOLOGICKÉMU VYUŽITÍ ODPADU
I
n the Czech Republic, the disposal of
used tyres is regulated by the Waste
Act. Tyre manufacturers and importers have to build a network of collection points where citizens can hand over
their used tyres for free. The carmaker
has been running its system of tyre collection since 2009. Thanks to continuous
system optimisation through a network
of authorised dealerships and other partners, the company has already recovered
over 5,000 tonnes of tyres, the equivalent
of about 11 football pitches.
To burn or to recycle?
How to deal with such a number of tyres?
Pass them on to be burnt or use them
to restore the areas affected by longtime burdens on the environment? Behaving like that, however, the carmaker
would completely deny the idea of a circular economy, which it promotes in line
with the Green Future strategy. Therefore, the company opted for waste conversion to secondary (recycled) materials
whose manufacturing also consumes far
less electric and thermal energy. Those
materials that can no longer be recycled
are burnt (used to generate energy). ŠKODA AUTO has found a partner in RPG Recycling, which processes the used tyres
to make rubber granules. They are used,
for example, to produce doormats, floor
tiles and playground equipment. Rubber granules are also used by the supplier Pilous, whose production provides,
among others, pads and interlay that prevent damage to parts during their transportation and handling. It is estimated
that almost 50 tonnes of granules will be
used in an environmental way in 2018.
THE FUTURE
BELONGS TO E-MOBILITY
NETWORK OF CHARGING STATIONS WILL BE
AVAILABLE WITHIN FIVE YEARS
T
2009
95,23
2010
269,82
2011
281,04
2012
294,93
he company ŠKO-ENERGO is responsible for
building the infrastructure
for electric car charging. ŠKODA AUTO is planning to produce these cars from 2020. “We
must be ready. We are installing the first charging stations on
the factory’s premises in May already. Others will follow over the
next five years, and their number will be based on actual demand”, says Jaromír Vorel from
ŠKO-ENERGO.
2013
432,80
Test Run
2014
465,20
2015
557,97
2016
1 308,86
2017
1 478,19
FRANTIŠEK PELECH
Recovery in tonnes
The charging stations will be
put in place at parking spaces
on the factory’s premises. They
will be available for the employees parking in front of the plant
at the car parks near the gates.
Their number will reflect the development and requirements of
e-mobility in the Czech Republic. In the pilot project, several
test charging stations are being
built by different contractors directly in the main plant of Mladá
Boleslav. “We want to test all features, including the green energy supply, on this sample. We
will be delivering the ‘CO2 frei’
green energy to the charging
stations”, Vorel explains. The
places to install the first stations have already been selected in cooperation with the city of
Mladá Boleslav. “They will start
working in September 2018. One
rapid-charging station will be
installed at the City Hall’s parking area, and more regular stations will be installed close to
the swimming pool, Old Town
Square, Jaselská Street and the
football stadium. People will find
them at the car parks and recognise them by their signs”, explains Miroslav Žďánský from
ŠKO-ENERGO. The rapid-charging stations will complement the
existing ones, charging a car
within 20 to 30 minutes. “The future of e-mobility lies in the fact
that everyone will charge their
car at home or work, so they
won’t have to bother with anything”, Vorel adds.
Application’s Development
Apart from the physical construction of the stations, ŠKO-ENERGO is also developing a monitoring system for their operation and
an application with a booking
system. “For the first stage, we
have a database of authentication
cards ready for our users, which
we will hand over to the municipality. However, we see the future
in applications in which anyone
will be able to book their charging time on a smart phone”, as
David Hošek from ŠKO-ENERGO, who is in charge of the entire e-mobility project, describes
the vision. EVA JAROŠOVÁ
DAVID HOŠEK
ŠKO-ENERGO –
CONCEPTUAL
ENERGY
PLANNING
I started as a specialist at
Conceptual Project Planning
concerning electrical engineering,
measurement and regulation. At the
beginning of 2017, our company
focused on the first e-mobility
projects, in which I took part and
with which I am now fully occupied.
What I like about my job is that it’s a
promising new direction with
environmental overlap.
MAY 2018 ŠKODA MOBIL 7