High pressure research is nowadays recognized as one of the worldwide priority research lines with the recent creation of dedicated research teams in the most advanced European countries, as well as in Japan and the USA.

One of the most fundamental goals in high pressure research is to mimic processes and phenomena similar to those occurring in the interior of the Earth and other planetary objects (phase transitions, chemical reactions, microbiological activity, to name a few) and to understand their physical, chemical, geological, and biological foundations and implications. However, the development of such scientific discipline extends the elucidation of natural processes, since it has allowed the expansion and growth of novel applications in diverse technological areas, from materials and mineral sciences to food technology.

The MALTA project seeks to set up the necessary scientific infrastructure and conditions to carry out interdisciplinary studies of the above mentioned phenomena and to investigate their fundamental aspects in a coordinated manner.

The success of this ambitious scientific and technological challenge requires the development of straight scientific strategies involving both experimental and theoretical research groups covering a wide range of scientific areas. For this reason, the MALTA project gathers more than seventy scientists of twelve research groups dedicated to the study of diverse high pressure phenomena under a variety of different perspectives.

In order to achieve this goal we shall study materials under extreme conditions involving nitrogen, oxygen, carbon and hydrogen (NOCH materials). This family of materials is extremely important for our purposes for two reasons: 1) they are related to our current individual research projects, and 2) they are involved in the most challenging problems in Materials, Earth and Life Sciences.

The scientific goals of MALTA can be grouped together into three general categories:
     • Water and life-related systems
     • Molecular systems: physical properties and chemical reactivity
     • Structure, stability, and reactivity of minerals

Among the main technological contributions of MALTA we can identify the development of new measure instruments, sensors, and high pressure characterization techniques, as well as the implementation of computational codes and models to simulate and interpret high pressure phenomena. Furthermore, and due to the strong link between high pressure concerns and technological applications, one fundamental goal of MALTA is the design and development of novel materials with interesting industrial properties by means of high-pressure/high temperature synthesis routes.

Finally, we should stress that a strong middle- and long-term investment in high-pressure technology requires both the consolidation and extension of this field at both scientific and socio-cultural levels. It is for this reason that MALTA is also aimed at: i) forming a new generation of young scientists, ii) transferring knowledge to other scientific branches and technological companies, and iii) planning tasks to spread high pressure science beyond the scientific community in a continuous and prolonged way.