Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1516098
2 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 18 FEBRUARY 2024 NEWS KURT SANSONE ksansone@mediatoday.com.mt ASSET RECOVERY BUREAU M A L T A These are full-time posts on an indefinite basis and subject to a probationary period of one year. Further information and a comprehensive Job Description may be obtained from the ARB website on https://assetrecovery.mt/vacancies/ Qualifications and experience claimed must be supported by certificates and/or testimonials, scanned copies of which should be attached to the application. Original certificates to be presented upon interviews. Applications, together with a detailed curriculum vitae showing qualifications and experience and a valid Police Conduct Certificate will be received by email by not later than Monday 18 th March 2024 on recruitment.arb@assetrecovery.mt. We are Hiring Bureau Officer II ( Asset Research and Data Management) Jobsplus Permit 706/2022 Bureau Officer I (Investigations) Jobsplus Permit number 487/2023 Bureau Officer I (Asset Research and Data Management) Jobsplus Permit Number 627/2023 Manager (ICT) Jobsplus permit number 489/2023 Manager (Legal Services) Jobsplus Permit Number 705/2022 A look into the future could see the waters around Malta dot- ted with floating wind and solar energy farms supplying clean electricity to an energy-hungry country. But no matter how far into the future we look, wind turbines and solar panels will remain intermittent sources of energy. In short, their output depends entirely on nature's whims – if there is no wind, turbines will not turn and if it's a cloudy day, the solar panels will be useless. Additionally, a windy night may produce too much energy when the demand is low. To overcome this difficulty, these technologies will have to be supported by energy stor- age infrastructure that collects the excess energy produced on good days for use when na- ture is unkind or when demand grows. This is where the University of Malta is stepping in with a pro- ject to study the use of subsea pipelines to store energy gen- erated from offshore wind and solar farms. The project, dubbed SA- ICOPES, is being funded by the Malta Council for Science and Technology, and aims to address the emerging need to invest in long duration energy storage infrastructure. The mismatch between the renewable energy supply and consumer demand over lengthy periods implies that storage technologies should be able to hold energy for many hours, typically between eight and 24 hours. Researchers say that relying solely on Li-Ion batteries, cur- rently used in mobiles, laptops and electric vehicles, is unsus- tainable due to the short life- time and use of crucial materi- als such as cobalt. They believe that adding me- chanical-based technologies, such as compressed air, to the technology mix will be essential for a smooth transition towards meeting the ambitions of the EU Green Deal. The researchers are looking at subsea pipelines similar to those already in use that trans- port oil, natural gas and water across large distances. The SAICOPES project is eval- uating how countries such as Malta can leverage established offshore pipeline technology to be able to store energy in the form of compressed air. The researchers say that ex- cess energy from offshore wind or solar farms can be used to power subsea hydro-pneu- matic compressors that would pressurise a network of subsea pipelines using a combination of air and water to store ener- gy. During periods of high con- sumer demand, the stored com- pressed air is released to drive expanders and generate elec- tricity. Researchers Charise Cutajar and Luke Aquilina from the university's Department of Me- chanical Engineering are devel- oping comprehensive computer models to simulate the opera- tion and efficiency of such sys- tems. Engineer Tonio Sant, profes- sor at the Department of Me- chanical Engineering, is coordi- nating the project. He believes there are immense benefits in exploiting subsea pipelines for compressed air energy storage. "Apart from having a long life- time of at least 30 years, which is at least threefold more than that of batteries, the compressed air pipelines are located offshore thus avoiding the need for ad- ditional land requirements to accommodate energy storage infrastructure," Sant said. He added that the same pipe- lines could also be used to in- terconnect different countries to enhance security of supply of renewable energy. "The benefits for a densely populated island like Malta, located on the periphery of Eu- rope, cannot be underestimat- ed," Sant said. Daniel Buhagiar, CEO of FLASC BV that is supporting the university team on indus- trialisation aspects of subsea compressed air technologies, said there was keen interest among oil and gas players in such niche opportunities for diversifying present activities and contributing to the green transition. Malta has embarked on an ambitious process to exploit the Maltese researchers developing compressed University of Malta research aims to develop subsea pipeline storage for energy generated by offshore wind turbines and solar panels