Roberto Hroval on His Life, Technology, and the Future of Science (Part 1/2)

As the world grapples with significant issues like climate change, energy shortages, and environmental degradation, a small revolution is quietly underway in Europe. Themis Ecosystem (TE), founded and led by Roberto Hroval, offers an interdisciplinary solution with the potential for wide-ranging benefits. We’ve previously covered TE in-depth, but today, we present the first part of an exclusive interview with the founder. The insightful researcher, serial entrepreneur, innovator, and visionary shares his thoughts on business, life, innovation, and scientific development.

The New York Ledger: “You are a man of many talents. As the head of TE, you manage and coordinate numerous significant projects. How do you find the time to invent and produce such diverse things—from building the world’s most advanced biomass factory and creating your own commodities exchange to producing organic food and engaging in charitable projects? Do you even sleep?”

Roberto Hroval: “I often ask myself where this boundless energy and passion for creating unprecedented things come from. But I manage. One reason is that I’ve been hyperactive and curious since childhood. I was always interested in everything and didn’t want to miss out on anything. Nights felt like wasted time, and I wanted to use them more productively. I remember my mother forcing me to bed every night. I’d sleep for an hour or two, and after everyone fell asleep, I sneaked back to the TV to watch programs until morning.

So, my nighttime work isn’t about losing sleep. My body works OK that way. It’s important to note that I don’t use the night to catch up on missed tasks, so it doesn’t stress me out. It’s a habit that greatly benefits me because I can achieve much when undisturbed at night. This is one of my secrets to finding time for everything—while others sleep, I work.

I love it. My life revolves around it because it brings me joy and fulfillment. I would be incredibly bored without work, innovation, and pushing boundaries. Hard work is part of my personality, and I expect the same from my entire team.”

NYL: “You have an extraordinary mind. People know you as a genius with talents across many fields. Your endeavors seem to lack a common thread of specialization; you tackle everything from health, energy, new approaches to well-being to nutrition, IT, and AI. Where do such diverse ideas come from?”

RH: “Thank you, but I don’t feel different from others. Early on, I was fortunate to discover my ability to solve complex problems and find long-term, workable solutions. My curiosity keeps me up-to-date with global trends, issues, and developments. When I see a roadblock or an absence of a solution, it drives me to search for one.

Besides, my ideas aren’t mental constructs but come through intuitive flashes. I then evaluate which ones are worth exploring and dive into the task. In this process, I’ve learned to differentiate between mental desires and intuition and to trust the latter. This has become an automatic and constant process in my mind. When tackling something new, I take extra time to think it through. Thinking time is one of my most productive activities.”

NYL: “Given your wide range of activities, you’ve likely studied many fields. What is your educational background, and where did you gain such diverse knowledge and expertise?”

RH: “I can summarize my entire educational experience in a few sentences. I have a high school diploma in electrical engineering. I enrolled in university but was utterly disappointed; everything was moving too slowly. I left after the first hour and never returned. I decided on my path and took a risk—whatever will be, will be. I have never been employed.

Regarding acquiring knowledge, I follow the ‘just in time’ concept, not ‘just in case.’ I trust I will get all the necessary information and knowledge when the time arrives. Technologies aren’t that different, you know. They all operate on similar principles.

If you understand the essence of a problem and have a solution in your mind, you can solve everything following similar principles. Non-familiarity with current procedures doesn’t hinder me, as success lies elsewhere. That is, not being burdened with the existing approach might even be my advantage—I approach problems like building rockets or cars from scratch similarly.”

NYL: “How would you approach, for instance, building a rocket or a car?”

RH: “I would delve into the current state, problems, and potentials, asking myself what the ideal solution for the next decades would be, but is achievable now. Then, I would combine partial solutions into a big picture that usually ends up much better than initially planned. For example, according to recent calculations, our Biomass Ultima factory will generate more than ten times the revenue of a competing factory of the same capacity. This wasn’t planned initially, but each innovation improved the result.

Regarding your question, I wouldn’t work on traditional cars or rockets today, as both are outdated. We need a quantum leap in the form of disruptive science. Rocket technology is eighty years old and originated from the German V-1 rocket developed during World War II. The basic model and operating principle remain the same. Yes, everything is prettier, bigger, and more optimized, but there is no fundamental disruption. I’m not interested in cosmetic improvements but in creating future-proof-solutions.

Creating new solutions isn’t the problem; my vision is always clear. The more significant issue is technical implementation. We are facing that problem all the time. Subcontractors are too slow, unreliable, and under-capacity. Thus, we can only collaborate with major industrial suppliers who can keep up with us.”

NYL: “Where did the idea for Themis Ecosystem come from? Why Themis?”

RH: “One evening, it struck me that we needed a system symbolically represented by the connection between the Greek icons Hermes and Themis. Themis, embodying divine order and justice, sets the principles. Hermes, the god of wealth, luck, and trade, is the practical executor. Their interaction combines abstract principles with practical execution—covering the entire cycle from undefined ideas to practical, fair implementation.

So, why not create a new, practical system for greater prosperity that benefits everyone, especially the average person, without intermediaries? I sought a fairer system for everyone—people, industry, nature. We paved a new path to greener industrialization, which is more digitalized and robustly prepared for the next fifty years compared to existing industries.

The TE elements are highly interconnected, but everything happens in real time. For instance, if someone removes CO2 from the environment, the user immediately benefits. This approach is entirely different from the Kyoto Protocol, where primarily intermediaries, states, and political elites benefit from advanced technologies that produce less CO2, and the average user gets nothing.

Conversely, by emphasizing the reduction of greenhouse emissions, authorities force you to turn off lights, use air conditioning less, etc. Or even more! Countries like Ireland threaten to tax farmers for the CO2 livestock producers.”

NYL: “What would be a better global approach?”

RH: “Countries should unite and execute a new Manhattan Project, a breakthrough approach that unfortunately created the atomic bomb. The USA mentioned they would undertake a new Manhattan Project to create a new energy source, like new nuclear fuel based on hydrogen, not enriched uranium; not fission but fusion, with no waste.

Scientists have already begun experimenting with other fuels using identical technology but for fusing, not splitting atoms. Breakthrough research goes way back to the fifties in the USA and sixties in Russia. I believe this is possible. I’ve been following the development for thirty years and know other technologies could replace the existing ones, but some groups aren’t interested in it. That would be my guess.”

NYL: “So, in some ways, science isn’t progressing as it should?”

RH: Science has been in decline since the seventies. We haven’t discovered anything groundbreaking since then. The biggest breakthroughs came from transferring military technology to everyday use, but these are old ideas. The Internet, smartphones, digital cameras, GPS, microprocessors… Windows Office and social media-like projects were designed for better communication among academic and military circles.

All these are former military technologies with new applications. For example, smartphones were first used in the Afghan war, GPS was used for intercontinental missiles, etc. Even the Internet is not groundbreaking; it was designed in the seventies. The same goes for AI, an open-coded computer program without any intelligence to go deeply.

Science progresses out of necessity or when there’s interest. Look at how quickly solutions were found for remote working during the COVID-19 crisis. In normal circumstances, development would take many, many years. Without strong motivation, progress stalls.

I’m talking about a particular branch of development—disruptive science—that doesn’t build on existing foundations but comes from entirely new ideas. This is what we lack.

Today, we don’t have new energy sources; we drive cars designed a hundred years ago—with four wheels, internal combustion engines, and so on. Yes, it is different and safer, but it still works on the same principles: polluting nature, creating endless traffic, and allowing many accidents.

Lately, we have been, for example, observing electric vehicles that are already in decline. In the mid-nineties, GM released the perfect EV1, but there was no interest in it. Also, scientists at the time used common sense. They considered how much pollution EVs would make even in the production phase, not to mention where electricity would come from. The project was abandoned. Electric vehicles made no good sense thirty years ago. What happened or progressed in the meantime to solve critical roadblocks? Not much.

The fifties were also favorable for development, with retro-futurism predicting modernization and robotics to ease life. But it doesn’t materialize. Instead, we’ve entered an intense social interaction era that overshadows everything. Social media friends and followers mean more than optimizing our lives or pursuing our ideas or desires. Focus is going in the wrong direction, but someone is leading it, and it’s convenient for them. People obsessed with each other aren’t thinking about more important things.

The more people express a specific need—we can even call it addiction—the more controllable they are. And if you can use that addiction as a communication channel, a medium for data collection, and sales, it becomes an almost perfect system for dominance and power.”

This concludes the first part of our conversation with Roberto Hroval. The Second Part is available here.