Once again, the Air Protection 2025 conference saw high attendance from experts across all areas of air protection from both Slovakia and the Czech Republic. This year’s exceptional 40th anniversary confirmed the event's long-standing status and prestige.
The professional contributions focused on current topics such as emission measurements, quality modeling, state institutional oversight, and the use of innovative technologies—for example, the use of drones to measure fugitive natural gas emissions. The program was further enriched by presentations from other departments of SHMÚ and the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute (ČHMÚ). Participation allowed us to test our findings through public presentations and subsequent discussions, which helped us identify the direction for our future activities.
Furthermore, the conference provided an opportunity to discuss current issues directly with representatives from the Ministry of Environment (MŽP SR), colleagues from the Slovak Environmental Agency (SAŽP), Slovak Environmental Inspectorate (SIŽP), operators, and other institutions. Key points of the working meetings included addressing issues related to ammonia emissions and the optimization of the National Air Quality Monitoring Network (NMSKO) for 2026. Additionally, we agreed on a new collaboration with the Czech inventory team and deepened our cooperation with the SIŽP in the fields of agriculture and the monitoring of stationary sources (ZZO).
Our Emissions and Biofuels Department (OEaB) actively presented two professional contributions at the conference. The first addressed the critical question of whether Slovakia can meet its ammonia reduction commitments, analyzing current options and challenges in this area. The second contribution presented the initial results of the EVSTATION project, which maps the state of electromobility and the development of charging infrastructure across Slovak regions.