The supports research, development and innovation projects between Maltese and Chinese researchers. Maltese researchers are funded through the Malta Council for Science and Technology, and this enables them to initiate collaborations with Chinese counterparts.
The aim of this Science and Technology Cooperation – Sino-Malta Fund, is to intensify scientific collaboration between the two countries to strengthen R&D activities, technology transfer and to carry out comprehensive, steady and long-term cooperation through support of researchers’ mobility and the networking of industries, universities and research institutions to generate mutual-beneficial and win-win research.
Two projects led by the University of Malta have just been awarded the SINO-Malta Fund, namely:
1. REACTIVE - REducing AirCraft Taxiing emissIons through energy recoVery and storagE
REACTIVE is a two-year project led by Dr Robert Camilleri from the Institute of Aerospace Technologies within the University of Malta and Prof He Zhang from the University of Nottingham Ningbo, China. The project has a budget of €400,000 and aims to design lightweight, high power density electrical machines which are coupled to a power dense flywheel for energy storage in a landing aircraft. The energy is used to perform engine-less taxiing. Aircraft currently perform taxiing operations using their main thrust engines at 7% setting, consuming over 200 kg of fuel for 20 minutes taxiing. Yet, upon landing, an A320 dissipates over 100 MJ of energy into braking. Capturing and storing a portion of this energy will allow the aircraft to perform engine-less taxiing into the airport gates, saving fuel costs and improving air quality on the ground. The REACTIVE project is supported by the Chinese aircraft manufacturer COMAC.
2. MGMTOFGR– Marine Geophysical Mapping Techniques for Offshore Freshened Groundwater Resources
MGMTOFGR is a two-year project led by Prof. Aaron Micallef and Prof. Zhihui Zou, which has a total budget of €400,000 and is based on a collaboration between the Department of Geosciences of the University of Malta and the Ocean University of China. The main objective of this project is to develop an approach to determine the characteristics of offshore freshened groundwater resources and test it offshore Shengsi County, Zhejiang Province, China. The project is expected to facilitate the use of offshore freshened groundwater as an unconventional source of potable water in coastal regions.
These projects are funded by the Malta Council for Science and Technology through the Sino-Malta Fund 2020 (Science and Technology Cooperation).
