UNIVERSITE DE PERPIGNAN

Their core work

Université de Perpignan Via Domitia (UPVD) is a French public university in southern France with strong research groups in concentrated solar power, thermal energy storage, and Mediterranean environmental science. Their solar energy work spans the full chain from solar tower systems and combined-cycle power generation to advanced storage materials (thermochemical and phase-change). They also contribute expertise in applied mathematics (PDEs, optimal control, computational mechanics) and environmental biology including biodiversity monitoring and ecosystem health assessment. Located in one of France's sunniest regions, they serve as a natural testbed and knowledge partner for solar energy and Mediterranean coastal research.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In the early H2020 period (2015–2018), UPVD focused heavily on concentrated solar power and thermal energy storage — training PhDs (INPATH-TES), developing solar tower combined-cycle systems (POLYPHEM), and improving functional materials for CSP (RAISELIFE). From 2019 onward, their portfolio broadened significantly: they added applied mathematics and computational mechanics (CONMECH), expanded into environmental research infrastructure (SFERA-III, JERICO-S3, BIOPOLIS), and moved into compact residential energy storage (MiniStor). The solar energy core remains, but there is a clear shift toward more diverse, infrastructure-oriented, and environmentally-focused research.

UPVD is evolving from a focused solar energy contributor toward a broader environmental and energy research node, increasingly embedded in large European research infrastructures.

How they like to work

UPVD overwhelmingly participates as a third party (9 of 11 projects), meaning they contribute specialized expertise to larger consortia led by others rather than managing projects themselves. They coordinated only once (EnvFate) and were a direct participant once (CONMECH). With 167 unique partners across 32 countries, they are well-connected but in a support role — expect them to deliver focused scientific contributions rather than lead large collaborative efforts.

Despite their modest project count, UPVD has touched 167 unique consortium partners across 32 countries, largely through participation in large infrastructure and coordination projects like SFERA-III, JERICO-S3, and BIOPOLIS. Their network is pan-European with a Mediterranean accent.

What sets them apart

UPVD's location in Perpignan — one of the sunniest cities in France, near the Odeillo and Themis solar facilities — gives them a genuine geographic advantage for concentrated solar power research that most European universities cannot match. Their combination of solar energy engineering, applied mathematics, and Mediterranean environmental science creates an unusual interdisciplinary profile. For consortium builders, they offer a reliable specialist contributor with deep solar expertise and a track record of delivering within large European infrastructure projects.

Highlights from their portfolio

• EnvFate
  Their only coordinator role in H2020 — a Marie Curie fellowship studying insecticide environmental impact through metabolomics, showing independent research leadership.
• POLYPHEM
  Core solar energy project developing a small-scale solar thermal combined cycle (solar tower + gas turbine + ORC), directly aligned with their primary expertise.
• SFERA-III
  Third phase of Europe's flagship solar research infrastructure network, positioning UPVD within the continent's top CSP testing ecosystem.