Malta Inc. recently announced that its German subsidiary, Malta Hochtemperatur Wärmepumpen Stromspeicher GmbH, in partnership with the German Aerospace Center (DLR), Alfa Laval and Siemens Energy, has been awarded a €9 million grant from the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection (BMWK). The grant is intended to support Germany’s efforts to meet the climate objectives of the Paris Agreement and become carbon neutral by 2045.
Objective of the German Energy Transition
Germany’ s aim is to electrify its heating sector and ensure that renewable energy production is continuously available. This grant will fund a techno-economic analysis of the potential of Malta’s LDES technology to help decarbonize both electricity and heat production in Germany. In addition, it will support the expansion of DLR’s state-of-the-art molten salt thermal energy storage test facility (TESIS) to validate an innovative heat exchanger built by Alfa Laval.
Commitment of Malta Inc. and its Partners
Ramya Swaminathan, CEO of Malta Inc. said, “We are honored to collaborate with the German government and its leading national laboratory, DLR, to explore how Malta’s technology can accelerate the transition away from natural gas. This important work will identify the best way to meet Germany’s decarbonization goals, create jobs in German turbomachinery manufacturing and achieve a just transition by creating clean energy construction and operations jobs for the country’s existing energy workforce.”
Sigmund Brielmaier, head of LDES at Siemens Energy, says: “In addition to being the turbomachinery supplier for Malta’s technology, we are looking forward to contributing our expertise to this project that enables the energy transition. LDES is essential for decarbonizing the energy system, and this project offers an excellent opportunity to explore new application paths for decarbonized cogeneration.”
Participation of DLR and Alfa Laval
Tom Erixon, President and CEO of Alfa Laval, says: “Energy storage plays a key role in the transition to renewable energy sources. Alfa Laval is proud to be part of this important project, ready to propel the implementation of the solution to new heights. Our pioneering and highly efficient heat exchanger technology, adapted to Malta’s energy storage process, will work under real operational conditions. This is an important step on the road to long-term competitive energy storage and the transformation of the European energy market towards a more sustainable future.”
