OFFSHORE ENERGY STORAGE - Key Persons
(Electrical Power & Control) Adrian-Ionut Singuran is an electro-technical engineer with an MSc from TUDelft. He has delivered solutons within the R&D department of a leading marine contractor, all the way to offshore deployment. At FLASC, Adrian is a principal engineer with a focus on electrical power and control, he has also developed numerical tools to model market participation and evaluate storage business cases.
Andrew Borg is currently reading for a Ph.D. at the University of Malta and holds a Master's Degree in Offshore Engineering from the University of Southampton. Andrew is developing numerical models to analyse hydraulic machinery aimed at reducing power intermittency. He is also working on machine learning techniques to optimise system behaviour. At FLASC, Andrew is developing a Digital Twin of the system and supporting technical development towards physical implementation.
Job Titles:
- Electrical Engineer
- Executive Director
- Member of the Board of Directors
Anton Bartolo is an electrical engineer and holds a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from The Ohio State University. He is founder and director of the Knowledge Transfer Office at the University of Malta and brings an extensive track-record in intellectual property management and technology transfer. As an executive director of FLASC, he supports primarily on strategy development, industrial collaborations, and intellectual property management.
Job Titles:
- Research Support Officer II
Charise Cutajar is currently reading for a Ph.D. at the University of Malta. She has over 5 years of experience in R&D, specialising in offshore energy storage. Charise also has industrial experience in project management, risk assessments, and safety and compliance auditing in the aviation sector. She is involved in several multi-disciplinary projects related to the FLASC technology.
Daniel Baldacchino holds a PhD from TUDelft in wind turbine aerodynamics. He has a strong technical background, working in large corporates and start-ups across a range of applications, from industrial hydraulics to innovative offshore wind concepts. At FLASC, Daniel is a principal engineer with a focus on hydraulic systems and mechanical aspects, working closely with partners and stakeholders.
Job Titles:
- CEO
- Co - Founder
- Executive Director
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Member of the Founding
Daniel Buhagiar holds a Ph.D. in offshore renewable energy from the University of Malta, during which he developed the FLASC storage technology. Before co-founding FLASC, he worked on product development in the automotive battery sector. At FLASC, Daniel leads the commercialisation of the technology, and manages collaborations with key stakeholders across a range of applications.
Job Titles:
- Research Support Officer II
Diane Scicluna holds an M.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Malta. Diane works in industry while ungaged as a part-time researcher at the University of Malta, where she is working on green hydrogen production from offshore wind and storage with a focus on the FLASC technology.
Business Developer Elena Kyzyngasheva has two MSc degrees in physics and innovation management. She has working experience in academia, public sector, and market research, where she was bringing innovative solutions to new markets. At FLASC, Elena is responsible for identifying early development opportunities and securing participation in commercial projects.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Board
- Member of the Board of Directors
Jerome de Richemont has over 20 years experience in finance, project management, M&A, and corporate venture capital. He has a strong track record in operational delivery of large and complex capital projects and has led major acquisition projects paving the way to Subsea 7's energy transition strategy. Jerome co-created Subsea 7's venture capital unit where he managed investments in marine renewable energy technologies.
Jessica Settino holds a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Calabria. She worked at the Paul Scherrer Institute in Switzerland and at the University of Malta. Currently, she is a research fellow at the University of Calabria. Jessica has a wealth of experience in modelling of energy systems, including green hydrogen production from wind. Jessica supports FLASC on hydrogen-related innovation development.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Non - Executive Chairman
Juanito Camilleri holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Cambridge. He is rector-emeritus of the University of Malta, and a full professor, presently chairing the University's Centre for Entrepreneurship & Business Incubation. Juanito has over 30 years experience in leadership, investment strategy and entrepreneurship. He has established leading technology companies and sits on the boards of several public and private companies.
Job Titles:
- Advisor
- Independent Advisor
Kees Willemse was professor of Offshore Engineering at TU Delft and business director energy at TNO before concentrating on the support of start-ups and scale ups in the energy sector. During his career in The Netherlands and abroad (as CEO of Royal Haskoning Asia) he was involved with many innovations in the maritime and energy sector and the combination of an engineering degree with an MBA makes him well-positioned to support young companies with their early development.
Job Titles:
- Mechanical Engineer
- Research Support Officer II
Luke Aquilina is a mechanical engineer currently reading for a Ph.D. at the University of Malta, where he is working on the first grid-connected ECU as part of an EU-funded project (MUSICA). He has also worked on the FLASC technology during both his B.Eng. and M.Sc. studies. Luke has also worked in the automotive industry, covering automation and assembly line setup.
Martin van Onna co-founded Strohm in 2007 and is presently the CEO. A pioneer of the disruptive Thermoplastic Composite Pipe technology, Martin developed Strohm from a business unit to an independent firm, and has a wealth of experience in bringing offshore innovations to the acceptance of the market, while creating a breakthrough business undergoing rapid growth. Martin is also enthusiastic about sharing this knowledge by coaching start-ups in the renewable energy space.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Board
- Member of the Board of Directors
Mevin Kistnassamy has over 20 years international experience in engineering, project and operational management, business development, M&A, and corporate venture capital. He has extensive technical experience and a global network in the offshore energy industry. He co-created Subsea 7's venture capital unit, where he negotiated and managed investments and strategic commercial partnerships across Europe, the US and Brazil.
Job Titles:
- Research Support Officer III
Oleksii Pirotti holds a Ph.D. from the National Technical University (Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute) in Ukraine, where he is also engaged as an Associate Professor. He is currently undertaking post-doctoral research at the University of Malta with a focus on applying the FLASC technology to green hydrogen production from offshore wind and storage in the central Mediterranean.
Paul Chang has 40 years of experience in the marine and subsea field, with extensive knowledge in the development and deployment of subsea systems. With a deep understanding of offshore technologies, as well as the business and operational needs of energy operators, Paul enables identification of existing solutions and facilitates the successful evolution of subsea technologies to meet renewable applications.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Member of the Founding
- Non - Executive Director
- Co - Founder / R & D Specialist
Robert Farrugia holds a Ph.D. in wind measurement and flow modelling from the University of Malta. He is a resident academic at the University of Malta with over 25 years experience in wind measurement and data analysis. Within the FLASC team, Robert co-ordinates early-stage R&D studies such as ongoing research on integration of FLASC storage in green hydrogen applications.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Non - Executive Director
Saviour Zammit holds a Ph.D. in Telecommunications Engineering from the University of Aston. He is a full professor of communications and computer engineering and served as Pro-Rector for Research and Knowledge Transfer at the University of Malta. With over 30 years of experience in management, corporate strategy and entrepreneurship, Saviour has served as a board director and technical director for a number of public and private companies.
Job Titles:
- Co - Founder
- CTO
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Member of the Founding
- Non - Executive Director
Tonio Sant holds a Ph.D. in Wind Energy from TUDelft. He is a Full Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Malta. He has over 20 years experience in the renewables sector and has contributed to over 140 peer-reviewed publications in the field. Tonio is a co-inventor of the solution and leads the technical development, including several publicly-funded projects.