CIESOL, recognised as a Unit of Excellence in Research by the Andalusian Regional Government
The University of Almería has succeeded in having two of its research centres, CIESOL and CIAIMBITAL, recognised as Units of Excellence in Research in the Andalusian Regional Government's call for the Andalusian Knowledge System. The provisional resolution will grant the institution a total of 3 million euros to develop the strategic programmes of both units and to strengthen their scientific capacity in the coming years.
This result is particularly significant given the high competitiveness of the call and the excellent positioning achieved by the University of Almería, which managed to have two of its three submitted proposals obtain this accreditation, thus becoming the Andalusian university with the best results in the entire process. With this recognition, the Andalusian Regional Government endorses the strength of the research carried out at the UAL in two fields closely linked to its environment and to the great challenges of the future: agri-food innovation and solar energy applied to sustainability.
One of the accredited units is CIESOL, the Solar Energy Research Centre of the University of Almería, directed by José Luis Casas López. The scientific-technical management of this centre is led by Francisco Gabriel Acién Fernández, and the unit has a team of guarantor researchers made up of José Luis Guzmán Sánchez, José Antonio Sánchez Pérez, Manuel Berenguel Soria, Sixto Mato Rodríguez and Guillermo Zaragoza del Águila. Its strategic programme for the 2026-2028 period aims to consolidate the centre's leadership in the development of advanced solar solutions for water, energy and biotechnology, while also strengthening knowledge transfer, close collaboration with companies and public administrations, and active participation in major European research and innovation programmes.
This recognition as a Unit of Excellence also reinforces the role of the Plataforma Solar de Almería (PSA-CIEMAT), since CIESOL is a joint centre of the University of Almería (UAL) and the PSA-CIEMAT. The close collaboration between both institutions, an international benchmark in concentrating solar power and in solar applications for water treatment and desalination, is one of the pillars underpinning the scientific excellence endorsed by the Andalusian Regional Government.
The second unit to receive this important recognition is CIAIMBITAL, the Research Centre for Intensive Mediterranean Agrosystems and Agri-food Biotechnology, directed by Julián Sánchez Hermosilla. In this case, the scientific-technical management of the Unit of Excellence falls to María José López López, while the group of guarantor researchers is composed of Ignacio Fernández de la Nieves, Rafael Lozano Ruiz, Francisco Molina Aiz, Antonia Garrido Frenich and Julián Cuevas González. This centre's strategic programme focuses primarily on advancing towards greenhouse fruit and vegetable production that is more sustainable, resilient and innovative, paying special attention to efficiency in the use of water, energy and other inputs, to the genetic and biotechnological improvement of crops, and to the safety and traceability of the entire agri-food chain.
With this outstanding accreditation, the University of Almería not only strengthens its overall position in the Andalusian R&D&I system, but also obtains decisive support to keep consolidating two of its most strategic centres, strongly boost the attraction of new talent, modernise existing scientific infrastructure and broaden the scientific, social and economic impact of all its research.
Source: news.ual.es