Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1325851
7 NEWS 07.01.2021 THE sixth edition of the Maritime Seed Awards will support five teams of entrepreneurs and researchers work- ing in the maritime field in the devel- opment of their proposals, taking them from concept to commercialisation. e funds were awarded through a collaboration between Transport Mal- ta and the University of Malta, and provide up to €20,000 in funding per team, over the period of a year. Re- searchers and entrepreneurs were sup- ported by the Knowledge Transfer Of- fice and TAKEOFF Business Incubator throughout the application process, and were given workshops and assis- tance. Four Proof of Concept technol- ogies and one Seed Fund proposal have been selected for funding. MedFOWT proposes a versatile Floating Offshore Wind Turbine plat- form concept which includes a single point mooring system and is specifical- ly designed to withstand central Med- iterranean conditions; IP Cosy defines a system to increase the efficiency and effectiveness in cooling photovoltaic panels; WinMar focuses on the de- sign of a custom-built, multi-bladed small scale wind turbine specifically designed for marine environments and DeSloSH will look at the development of a low cost, internal tank sloshing suppressive infrastructure for storage tanks within fuel-transporting vessels. Seed Fund beneficiary, Borg & Kaupps, aims to develop a gas-sensing technol- ogy which can be miniaturised and re- quires low energy, therefore allowing it to be installed on off-grid smart buoys. is facilitates Port Authorities and Government Agencies to continuous- ly monitor and report the use of sul- phur-based fuel emissions in maritime operations. Joseph Bugeja, Chairman and CEO of Transport Malta, said that it is the policy of the Authority to assist and support innovative and creative indi- viduals to succeed. "In this case, we are exploring and focusing our efforts on this dynamic sector, which is undoubtedly a priori- ty area for Malta," he said. "Evidently, providing financial assistance at an early stage is of fundamental impor- tance to help individuals transform their creative ideas into concepts lead- ing to commercialization". Prof. Alfred J. Vella, University of Malta Rector, noted that "In an age being largely defined by climate change and the increase in efforts re- lating to environmental protection, it is encouraging to see such a drive to- wards the development and improve- ment of renewable energy resources and efforts to monitor and curb hy- drocarbon fuel emissions. To know that the University of Malta is playing a part in making this industry more sustainable feels like the fulfilment of a duty to improve society through the knowledge we cultivate." Further information on the Maritime Seed Award can be found on https:// takeoff.org.mt/seed-funds/. More funding in support of the maritime field HSBC Malta Foundation has spon- sored the first prize at Climathon Malta 2020 which was won by a mo- bile app called Merħba. The online hackathon, which aims to tackle cli- mate change issues, focused on the cultivation of sustainable tourism practices by empowering foreign and local tourists to make more sustaina- ble choices during their holidays. e event also featured workshops and talks to equip participants with the right mindset and tools to develop their projects. Merħba aims to help tourists become aware of sustainable and eco-friendly events, restaurants, accommodation and mobility options across the Mal- tese Islands. The app would tally up the choices of the traveller and highlight the car- bon footprint of the individual. Users would then, depending on their choic- es, be able to earn points and redeem them for sustainable products and services. Glenn Bugeja, Corporate Sustaina- bility Manager at HSBC Malta, said, "Once Covid-19 is behind us, people will be back to travelling, possibi- ly in even greater numbers than be- fore. Sustainability in tourism is, and will remain, an important issue. This makes ideas like Merħba, which has the potential to help individual trav- elers make better choices, incredibly important. The HSBC Malta Foun- dation will continue to invest in ini- tiatives like Climathon as part of the bank's ongoing global commitment to carbon neutrality." Four teams made of up a total of almost 30 participants pitched their ideas during Climathon Malta 2020. The winning Merħba mobile app was pitched by Allen Tom and Francis- co Barrios, both students, and Gay- le Murphy, founder of Global Green Events. The Ministry for the Environment, Climate Change and Planning ac- knowledged that HSBC Malta Foun- dation's sponsorship of Climathon Malta 2020 has been essential to the event's success. This support is instrumental in kick-starting the Merħba project, and together with the support and guid- ance provided by the Ministry, efforts will be further directed towards the creation of a more sustainable tour- ism sector in the Malta. Climathon is an initiative supported by the European Institute of Technol- ogy's Climate-Knowledge and Innova- tion Community (EIT Climate-KIC) and was organised in Malta via the collaboration of the Ministry for En- vironment, Climate Change and Plan- ning, the Climate Action Board and The Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology (MCAST). Due to the Covid-19 pandemic the event was held online. HSBC Malta Foundation sponsors Climathon's winning prize HSBC Malta Foundation sponsors Climathon's winning prize