Michal Majchrák, a New Member of VUJE's Top Management: My Journey from the First Soldering Iron to Nuclear Energy

Let’s start with your youth. Have you always been close to technology and electricity?

Absolutely. I jokingly say that my father was a lawyer, my mother was an economist, so I had to be an electrical engineer. I remember that I was involved in it since I was seven years old. My first soldering iron and drill were my Christmas presents, so I’ve been living with this since childhood.

At university, you were involved in research and development in the field of digital signal processing. What does that mean in layman’s Slovak?

Digital signal processing is any digitization of a signal. Specifically, I focused on microphone arrays signal processing. This is a specific area that is commonly used today, but during my university studies, this field, particularly its practical application, was still in its infancy. To illustrate, if you have for example multiple microphones and record them simultaneously, you can do all sorts of “tricks” with mathematical functions. However, this is where my research essentially ended. I found that mathematics at this level was too challenging for me. So I found a job, started focusing on more practical matters, and my scientific research activity diminished.

But I have always considered myself as a researcher, or perhaps more accurately, a development worker. I have spent most of my professional career in this field, and research and development have always been close to me. If a research or development task is successful, or even commercially successful, the added value is high, and that is what motivates and fulfills me.

Were you involved in sound during your studies partly because it relates to your private hobby? Only few people know that you play bass guitar in the Trnava band LIBIDO… How did you get into that?

Of course, that’s how it is! I wanted my work to be as close to my hobby as possible, but it didn’t quite turn out as originally planned. The technology remained, and music became a form of relaxation for me, it’s like recharging my batteries to go to play somewhere with the band. We always have a great time, and it “infects” the audience as well, and people have fun with us. Although I come home physically exhausted, but my mind is refreshed.

Well, and how did I get into it? Back in technical high school, my classmates and I decided one day to form a band, and that was it. I don’t even really remember why, maybe we wanted to attract girls as rockers. Too bad rockers weren’t very “in” even back then (laughs). I’m the only one left from the original lineup still playing.

Let’s get back to your work. What ultimately led you from sound and signals to nuclear energy? What were your beginnings at VUJE?

I learned from an acquaintance about an open position for an electrical engineer or electronics specialist at VUJE, specifically a spot on the team developing an hydrogen monitoring system for severe accidents. So, I let them know I was available. At that time, I was working in Bratislava and, interestingly, on developing electronics for high temperatures and harsh conditions. Due to many highway repairs and reconstructions, traveling in that time was probably the worst I can remember, so the offer came in handy. I wanted to return to Trnava, as my family life was gradually beginning. Moreover, being a native of Trnava, the topic of nuclear energy always resonated in the city, which I was close to, and we literally had the power plant within sight. So, it all fit together beautifully.

By the way, right after my university studies, I even applied for a position as an operator at a nuclear power plant, but I didn’t pass the psychological tests. They told me that I was too much of an extrovert and too innovative for the position. They argued that they needed someone less active who would calmly perform mostly routine work. According to them, I would get bored with the operator position very quickly. They were probably right (laughs). At VUJE, it was the exact opposite. There was no routine waiting for me there. From pulling cables on the third block in Mochovce, through developing electronics, qualifying equipment, solving technical problems directly on the blocks, service trips, to leading about 10 people when I became the head of the department.

…and then came the change. You spent 5 years outside of VUJE - even completely outside of the nuclear field. What prompted you to return?

My departure was quite a coincidence. An opportunity arose to gain some different experiences in an international development team, so I took it. But as I mentioned before, nuclear energy has grown on me, it’s a specific field and has its charm. I occasionally thought about returning, but I didn’t worry about when and how since I was quite satisfied with my job at the time.

And yet it found its way to me. I was still in contact with my colleagues from VUJE, and sometimes they even called me when they needed to solve something. Once, during a similar discussion, one of them admitted that my name was mentioned in a meeting and he was tasked with finding out how I was doing. And then it slowly but surely progressed. A few meetings took place, and I was offered the position of division director. I must admit, it wasn’t an easy decision. I realized that while it was a significant career step for me, it also brought a lot of responsibility. It was only after conversations with CEO Matej Korec that I finally said yes.

Since July, you have become the director of the Engineering Services and Implementation Division. Let’s introduce it in a few sentences, what are its main tasks within the company?

The main mission of our division are turnkey implementation projects, which is an ideal task for us. These are projects that involve all professions, whether it’s electrical, control and management systems, mechanical parts, construction parts… Based on customer requirements, we do everything from project development and necessary documentation, through implementation, to potential service, which we can and often do provide. For example, hydrogen monitoring system for severe accidents - this is a nice example of commercially successful development as I mentioned at the beginning. This system was completely developed at VUJE, it is deployed in most nearby power plants, and we also perform regular service and maintenance on it. But of course, there are more such systems under our management.

Do you also cooperate with other divisions of VUJE in this?

Yes, it happens often. For example, we have a different division for analytical calculations, and another one for radiation control issues. Therefore, collaboration across the company is a given for extensive and complex projects, and I always look forward to it. Each division has its top experts, and through mutual cooperation, one constantly learns from colleagues. Each department in our division deals with a specific profession, and based on inquiries from potential clients, we decide whether it falls within our scope and if we can meet their requirements. If we conclude that it does, we participate in tenders, and experts prepare the documentation for the individual competitions. After I joined the division, we established a new unit dedicated to project preparation and management. And when we manage to win a tender and secure a contract, the implementation follows. All of this needs to be coordinated within VUJE and, most importantly, staffed. And here we come to the biggest problem, which is the personnel. I currently consider supplementing and strengthening the team to be my top priority.

All managers in the nuclear energy sector say that there is a shortage of people.

Yes, I feel it very intensely. Qualified people are missing everywhere, and in the nuclear sector, it is doubly true.

What are you most proud of in your professional career so far? And it doesn’t have to be within VUJE.

I am proud of every successfully completed project I was a part of. It was always gratifying when my work received positive feedback. Additionally, if good interpersonal relationships were built and colleagues specifically sought me out for cooperation because they knew they could rely on me. That was the greatest satisfaction for me.

Let’s take a closer look at some of VUJE’s activities. Your division is now finishing the construction of a dry storage facility for spent nuclear fuel in Jaslovské Bohunice. What do you see as the greatest significance of this project?

I returned to VUJE only at its very end. Colleagues who had been intensively working on it for several years, along with our suppliers, did a great job. It is a very extensive and demanding technical work, of which we are rightly proud. Its huge advantage is that it is passive storage. If you have a wet interim storage, you need to constantly monitor the water, pump it, treat it, and cool it. Here, nature takes care of everything through natural air circulation. It is essentially a passive storage system where spent nuclear fuel is stored safely for many years.

In Bohunice, you also completed the construction of a melting facility, for which your division was responsible. What should we imagine it to be?

It works in such a way that when steel, which exhibits a certain increased radiation, is melted, it deactivates, meaning it no longer emits radiation and ceases to be dangerous. Subsequently, it can be returned to the environment in the form of an ingot and can be further processed, something new can be made from it again. This was theoretically well known, and this project has literally put it into practice.

That is a counterargument for people who say that a nuclear power plant produces a lot of dangerous and unusable waste…

You see, it also produces usable waste… (laughs)

Besides specific activities, you have already mentioned that the biggest challenge is staffing the division. How do you plan to achieve this?

I firmly believe that we will be able to find experienced professionals, at VUJE, there are many opportunities for personal development, and this is especially true in our division. When you consider the wide range of activities we cover, almost anyone who is willing to work on themselves and learn new things can find a place here. However, we realize that this can be a long-term process, and it should start in schools –with colleagues we often discuss this.

Generally, there is a decline in the number of students interested in technical fields. That’s why I’m considering organizing lectures for high school students. There are certainly more experienced motivators than me, but I think I also have something to say to them, to engage and convince them that studying technical fields has a future for them. I wouldn’t trade it for anything. But we also have for example interesting topics for university students thesis. This has been working at VUJE for a longer time. Just recently, we hired a graduate who did his thesis with us.

Why do you think young people should decide to come work at VUJE? What benefits do you see in it?

Consider the length of the lifecycle of a nuclear facility - from construction, through operation, to decommissioning, you won’t be short of work for the next two lifetimes. And in each of these stages, VUJE offers its services, including the transmission and power grid. I don’t know… is there anything more to add? Nuclear energy has been around for a long time and it will be indispensable for a very long time, even though until recently, some might have thought otherwise.

What other plans do you have for the division?

There are some major new projects coming up, and we have already entered competitions. We are ready to secure them for VUJE and then successfully implement them. Given my extensive background in research and development, I plan to create at least a small research and development team within the division. This will strengthen our competence and know-how compared to the competition. After all, VUJE has always been a research and development organization in the past, and it historically had this in its name. Therefore, I would be pleased if we could regain strength in this field.

Which areas should research or development focus on?

Well, on digital signal processing, of course (laughs). I’m completely serious. We manage systems that will need to be modernized soon, and the goal is to be prepared with our own hardware platform that will be fully under our control. However, I’ll keep the details to myself for now. There’s more to it, and my colleagues and I are discussing what to prioritize.

What do you see as the future of power energy? On one hand, the government wants to build a new block in Jaslovské Bohunice, which is a large power plant, and small modular reactors are also being discussed… Do you think nuclear power will get “closer to the people”?

Well, honestly, I’m not quite sure if ordinary people want nuclear power to be too close to them (laughs), but I definitely consider the decision to build a new block to be the right one. We have everything we need here – the infrastructure exists, it would be a pity not to use it. Operating stable sources, such as a nuclear power plant, is currently absolutely necessary and will be for a long time. I am also, for example, a supporter of photovoltaics, especially in places like empty roofs of industrial buildings, shopping, and logistics centers. However, a too high penetration rate of such “unpredictable” sources, which most renewable energy sources are, causes big problems in the network. Therefore, a stable source, such as a nuclear power plant, is absolutely necessary. So in my opinion, the near future lies in the right energy mix, where nuclear energy forms a reliable and safe foundation.

And small modular reactors? Someone could finally tell me what exactly I should imagine under that. In my opinion, it doesn’t take much imagination to claim that we already operate five of them in Slovakia and the sixth is about to be launched. Of course, I’m joking a bit, but in terms of safety and reliability, statistically, our blocks should belong there. And I think VUJE contributes significantly to this and will certainly continue to do so. And my role now is to help as much as possible.