The Mcast Energy Research Group is exploring the possibility of collaborating with the University of Manchester’s School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering whereby the latter would host Mcast students for specific modules and short-term scientific missions as well as for split-site PhD studies that have Maltese or Mediterranean attributes in research.

The Energy Research Group of Mcast’s Institute of Engineering and Transport is led by Brian Azzopardi and is conducting research on efficient buildings, power systems, renewables, transportation device fabrication and on-site testing, energy economics and policy. It specialises in applied research techniques including optimisation, decision-making and lifecycle analysis. Mcast recently hosted its first Energy Day Conference, which focused on finding global and regional solutions through innovative devices in emerging technologies and systems-level integration.

It was addressed by international speakers including Joseph Mutale from the University of Manchester and Ralph Gottschalg from Loughborough University.

They spoke about ‘Decarbonising the electricity supply industry: A review of challenges and opportunities’ and ‘Performance-relevant effects on photovoltaic modules and systems’ respectively.

Local speakers included Luciano Mulé Stagno from the University of Malta and a number of Mcast researchers and alumni.