The FLASC team went up against 11 of the best energy start-ups from the central and eastern European regions at the PowerUp! Grand Final in Budapest. Each team had already won their respective regional final, so competition was though. They pitched their idea for 4 minutes to a panel of judges, comprising CEOs, VCs and portfolio managers. The judges then had to rank the start-ups based on how likely they were to invest. Following a pitch delivered by Dr Daniel Buhagiar on behalf of the FLASC team, FLASC placed 2nd, right behind the home team. This is a very encouraging result for the team considering the competition started with 158 contenders from 24 EU countries. Beyond the cash prize of €10,000, the event was a great opportunity to network with potential customers and prospective investors. Further information about the event may be found in : http://powerup.innoenergy.com/en/page/grand-final-en FLASC is an offshore energy storage technology currently under development by the University of Malta with the financial support of the Malta Council for Science and Technology using the FUSION Programme. Medserv plc is an industrial partner in this project. Financial support is also being provided by the University of Malta Research, Innovation and Development Trust (RIDT) and Malta Marittima. FLASC uses pressurised seawater and compressed air to store energy from offshore renewable resources. It is best suited for floating systems since it integrates directly into the platform itself. Potential applications include floating wind, solar PV, wave and tidal energy systems, along with liquefaction of natural gas, water injection in oil wells and desalination. A small-scale prototype was recently deployed in the Dock 1 area of Bormla with the technical and logistical support of Medserv plc. The University research team includes Prof. Tonio Sant from the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Dr Robert Farrugia from the Institute for Sustainable Energy, Post Doctoral Researchers Dr Daniel Farrugia and Dr Federica Strati, MSc student Luke Aquilina and engineering graduate Mr Daniel Farrugia. Further information may be found in the project website: www.offshoreenergystorage.com 
This article was last updated on: December 1, 2017