Athanasia-Maria Tompolidi
Bio
Athanasia-Maria Tompolidi holds a BSc from National Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA). She holds a PhD on mineral mapping by using machine learning (ML) for satellite image analysis from Harokopio University of Athens (HUA) in collaboration with the Research Institute of IAASARS/NOA. She has seven years of experience on project management of national and European funding projects as Project Officer in Horizon Europe Climate of Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA) of European Commission (EC).Currently, she is the Research and Innovation (R&I) Manager of Consortium for Battery Innovation (CBI) in the Brussels office and she manages the Horizon Europe project LoCEL-H2 (leader of WP8 implementation) and the Innovate UK project MESCH. She is also representative of CBI in the Transition Pathway Taskforce (contributing in investments & EC funding opportunities, supporting R&I) and in the Joint Working Group 2 of BE/BEPA.
The MESCH project is funded by Innovate UK (UKRI) and has a duration of 24 months, kicked off in May 2024 with a lifespan until April 2026. The international project team comprises: UK-based Consortium for Battery Innovation (project coordination), Ultima Forma (hydrogen storage) and Loughborough University (technical development), Malawi-based Renew’N’able (community engagement) and INFLO (commissioning, operation, training) and Bulgaria-based MONBAT (major battery manufacturer and energy-storage player).
The vision of MESCH project is to enable inclusive access to a sustainable source of energy. MESCH project focuses on a new form of battery and hydrogen production technology (the battery-electrolyser) within a modularized hybrid energy storage system. The battery-electrolyser both stores electrical power and produces hydrogen using electrolysis. This state-of-the-art technology has as results: low-carbon footprint, provision of electricity buffering and multi-vector energy storage, reliable 24-hour access to electricity and clean fuel by using low-cost components.
The significance of this project is relying on the fact that the development, deployment and validation of the MESCH pilot installation will take place at the Malawi hospital ‘’Mwanza District Hospital’’. Furthermore, MESCH will be built in consultation with the local society having wider impacts on improved education and skills, higher employment (more start-ups), improved health and clean cooking with cleaner fuel, improved equality and quality of life driven by easy access to fuel and local empowerment.
