The minister of Science and Innovation, Diana Morant, met last Thursday, 9 February in Barcelona with the researchers Hanna Liventseva, from Geosciences Barcelona (GEO3BCN-CSIC), and Olha Nikolenko, from the Institute of Environmental Diagnosis and Water Studies (IDAEA-CSIC). Both scientists work at institutes of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) in the framework of the CSIC-Ukraine collaboration programme.

The visit was part of the Ministry’s tour of different CSIC and CIEMAT centres in Valencia, Catalonia and Madrid that have hosted 22 Ukrainian scientists, 15 of them women, since the start of the war between Russia and Ukraine. Hanna Liventseva works on the project ‘Assessment of the geothermal potential of Catalonia’, whose principal investigator is Joan Martí, from GEO3BCN-CSIC.

“I am absolutely sure that renewable energy is the energy of the future. But the role of geothermal energy is still not sufficiently appreciated. In this field, there are huge prospects in Ukraine and, of course, in Spain, in particular, Catalonia,” explains the former president of the College of Geologists in Ukraine, who underlines her gratitude for being part of this research team working for Europe and the world and for being useful both in Spain and in Ukraine.

Global vision of Ukrainian geology

Other of the researcher’s main tasks is to establish communication between geological organizations in Spain and Ukraine and between research personnel from both countries. Along this line, Liventseva is preparing a series of online and face-to-face conferences entitled ‘Global vision of Ukrainian Geology’ in which some of the main Ukrainian geologists will participate.

The first seminar, on 21st February, will feature Kateryna Derevska, PhD in Geological Sciences, professor at the Faculty of Natural Sciences of Kyiv National University – Mohyla Academy and senior researcher at the Geological Museum of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. In this event, she will talk about the role of natural history museums in modern education and science, and their importance for the development of the Ukrainian geological branch in the conditions of European integration.

Hanna Liventseva is also preparing, together with other colleagues, a series of exhibitions revealing the importance of mineral resources for the future of mankind. “In the framework of this project, we want to show the public the importance of geology in Europe by emphasizing the current need for geological resources. There is a preliminary agreement for the creation of such an exhibition with the Museo Geominero of the Instituto Geológico y Minero de España (IGME-CSIC).