Visit of the Minister of Education and Science to the CC HITMOBILE
On June 16, 2025, the Minister of Education and Science Krasimir Valchev paid a working visit to the leading organization of the CC HITMOBIL - the Institute of Electrochemistry and Energy Systems at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. Minister Valchev was accompanied by Prof. Dr. Kostadin Kostadinov, Advisor to the Minister of Education and Science, Ms. Milena Damyanova, Director of the Science Directorate, and by the President of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Corresponding Member Prof. Dr. Evelina Slavcheva.
The visit began with a meeting with the scientific staff of the IEES-BAS, at which the Director of the Institute, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Plamen Nikolov, briefly introduced the guests to the main areas of the scientific and applied activity of the team in the field of innovative development of electrochemical energy systems - batteries and hydrogen technologies, and sustainable energy based on renewable energy sources.
Assoc. Prof. Nikolov, in his presentation, paid special attention to the establishment, structure and functioning of the CC HITMOBILE and the scientists' aspiration to carry out more and more of their developments together with and in the service of business. Emphasis was also placed on the Center's opportunities for participation in educational programs for students, doctoral students and postgraduates, which are already being successfully implemented.
During the visit, the guests visited some of the six laboratories of the Center, where they were shown some of the most modern research equipment.
Corresponding Member Prof. Dr. Evelina Slavcheva, as the project manager, presented the experimental equipment for testing electrolyzers and hydrogen cells, as part of Laboratory 3 "Hydrogen and Fuel Cells". She also focused on one of the latest developments - a hydrogen electrochemical pump, which increases the pressure of hydrogen through an electrochemical reaction and can serve as a hydrogen filter.
Part of the infrastructure of Laboratory 1 "Batteries" from the CC HITMOBIL was presented by Senior Asst. Prof. Dr. Simeon Stankov, who first demonstrated the assembly of a laboratory lithium cell and explained the subsequent procedures in its laboratory testing, and later introduced the guests to the newly built pilot line for serial production of soft pack (pouch) lithium-ion cells.
The visit ended with a tour of the facilities at the Integrated Energy Systems Field Laboratory, unique for the region and the country, at the HITMOBILE Headquarters on the site in Druzhba district, Sofia. Minister Valchev observed how research is being conducted in a real environment on the production of energy from renewable sources and its storage through various electrochemical technologies (battery and hydrogen systems), which release it for use when needed.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nikolov and Asst. Prof. Denis Paskalev presented the unified system for management and control of technological equipment including: solar park; wind emulator; systems of lead, lithium and vanadium flow batteries; electrolyzer; and charging stations with direct and alternating current for battery electric cars and with hydrogen for hydrogen electric cars, which allows for the implementation of a wide range of experiments, recording and analysis of the observed parameters from the tests conducted and other scientific and applied research. The charging of the hydrogen car, in which Minister Valchev traveled to the site, was demonstrated. The capabilities of the laboratory for services for industrial enterprises, electric and hydrogen transport were also explained.