David Maršálek is President of H2 Global Group. On the occasion of the publication of the first issue of the H2 TIMES print newspaper, we asked him for an interview.

You've decided to publish H2 TIMES, the world's first hydrogen newspaper. Why is that?

"The best year to start new hydrogen projects is 2022. We want to start doing outreach, educating people and showing them a new way. I'm very interested in making sure people know how much hydrogen can benefit them. Especially in terms of health and quality of life in general. That's what I feel is my main mission in life. I would like to see molecular hydrogen help every family. Make everyone better off. And H2 TIMES is one way to achieve that goal. It's the first hydrogen newspaper about a better future, and we're offering it here and today."

You first encountered molecular hydrogen and its applications when you visited the US 12 years ago. What inspired you there?

"The biggest inspiration for me was Professor Dusan Miljkovic, a very knowledgeable and experienced Serbian scientist who originally worked at the University of Novi Sad and moved to the US with his family after the war in Yugoslavia. There he continued his research, built up an international family business and registered over 50 patents. He has brought great natural health products to the market. One such product was hydrogen tablets. And it was with this hydrogen story that I had the opportunity to be there from the very beginning. Professor Miljkovic has taught me many things about hydrogen over the years of working with him, and I am very grateful for that. He has been my mentor and role model, and thanks to him we can now talk about the use of hydrogen in all of our daily lives."

You are one of the visionaries of today's world. Your grand visions, based on the use of molecular hydrogen, can be systematically turned into reality. Your global projects range from medicine to spas to sports. You want to be a global market leader in the long term and your declared goal is to make hydrogen thrive in every home. You are leading a company that is heading step by step towards billions in sales. Where exactly do you get the energy for this demanding, intensive work?

"I go to bed with hydrogen and wake up with hydrogen. So it's not so difficult to imagine that I have been living with hydrogen 100% for 12 years. In the first place, I am motivated by my ongoing success in life in all respects, which I also 'feed' with hydrogen and balance with my big plans, which I am gradually but surely implementing. The most important thing for me is to get more and more positive feedback from the people who benefit health-wise from our activities, this is what recharges me the most."

You can feel the desire to help people in everything you do. To keep them healthy and vital, to help them live to a ripe old age. And that's because of molecular hydrogen. Could molecular hydrogen be described as the breakthrough scientific discovery of the last few decades, something that will enable people in the 21st century to live a much better quality of life than they did in the last century?

"Thanks to the beneficial effects of hydrogen, not only on human health, people can live a better quality of life. Many scientists and physicians from all over the world have been studying the effects of hydrogen on humans, animals and even plants for decades. There are already over 1,700 studies on which experts from all over the world have drawn. In Japan, hydrogen was even approved as a medicinal gas for a period of time. That is what we are now striving for here in Europe, with our expert support. At the moment, we are working with spas, doctors, scientists, universities and professional institutions to ensure that as many people as possible can benefit from the beneficial effects of hydrogen. I am very fortunate to work with some of the greatest hydrogen experts in the world, such as Prof. Shigeo Ohta from Japan, whose personality, research and books are known throughout the hydrogen world - he is considered the 'founding father' of hydrogen in (bio)medicine. In the Czech Republic, we have a great professional support from Associate Professor Michal Botek from Palacký University in Olomouc, who has become a respected expert in the field of hydrogen application in biomedicine and sports over the last 5 years of research work with hydrogen. Furthermore, Prof. Jan Slezák from the Slovak Academy of Sciences, who has been involved in hydrogen research together with his team for many years and has published several internationally recognized scientific papers. Last but not least, I must mention our colleague Dr. Milan Krajíček, who is a top expert in the field of pharmacological research, development and production of products not only based on hydrogen."

Does your company H2 Global Group have any actual competition in the Czech Republic?

"H2 Global Group is a world leader and pioneer in the field of hydrogen technology for healthcare, spa, wellness and beauty, sports, agriculture and livestock. Our Group benefits from the many years of practical experience of our subsidiaries and our activities are in the fields of medicine (medical gases and medical devices), biomedicine, biotechnology, biochemistry, cosmetics and food (nutrition). No other company in the world has the breadth, know-how, expertise and competence to deal with hydrogen in such depth. We have a perfectly developed system from our own research and development through production, distribution and training of partners and customers. The actual financing of our entire group is also provided by one of our subsidiaries. We own a large number of key global hydrogen domains, trademarks, patents and utility models, and we continue to register more. Occasionally, someone tries unsuccessfully to copy us as leaders, which is a sign that we are doing it right."

Due to high inflation, many people today are struggling with where to save or invest their spare money. One option is to invest in hydrogen projects through your company Molecular Hydrogen Investment Group. Could you tell us what are the advantages of such an investment?

"It is almost impossible to safely store funds and still hope that they are also fairly valued these days. The newly emerging hydrogen sector, which is experiencing a huge boom globally, is not only worth a lot of money, but is also gaining more and more popularity and trust among investors, not least because it is supported by the world's largest governments and economies. I have been involved in hydrogen for 12 years, so I have a very detailed knowledge of the whole global market, I know the possibilities and uses of hydrogen, and I know what makes economic sense and what projects have a future. We always try to offer our clients the opportunity to not only store their funds safely, but also to value them fairly, especially in projects that make sense, have a future, economic and social value and sustainability."

Your Group and all its subsidiaries are based in Ostrava. Why Ostrava?

"First of all, I must highlight the huge advantages of doing business from Ostrava, a medium-sized city with very good amenities, infrastructure and great facilities for our entire team. At the same time, we managed to create a great cooperation with the Moravian-Silesian Innovation Centre, the so-called Ostrava Sillicon Valley, led by Pavel Csanek."

How did you manage to get the Olympic champion Aleš Valenta to join the team?

"Aleš Valenta was recommended to our company and its products. First we met in person and then he tested our products for a very long time. And he came to the conclusion that we should support this great idea. Not only as a top manager, but also as a proper investor and partner, he wanted to be at the birth of a unique international billion-dollar company. We are very grateful for his cooperation and support so far."

Petr Hušek