Carla Isabel Montagud Montalvá is an Associate Professor in the Department of Applied Thermodynamics and a researcher at the Institute for Energy Engineering (IUIIE) at the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV), where she has developed her research career for over 18 years. She holds a PhD in Industrial Engineering and currently serves as the Director of the UPV Chair of Urban Energy Transition.

Dr. Montagud’s research focuses on the design, modeling, and techno-economic optimization of complex energy systems for heating, cooling, and domestic hot water, with a strong emphasis on renewable energy integration. Deeply committed to both education and research, she actively works to transfer academic knowledge to society, supporting cities in their path toward climate neutrality and a fair energy transition.

Antonio Cazorla Marín is an Associate Professor in the Department of Applied Thermodynamics and a researcher at the Institute for Energy Engineering (IIE) at the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV). With over a decade of academic and research experience, his work focuses on the advancement and optimization of sustainable thermal technologies.

Dr. Cazorla Marín’s primary research areas include concentrating solar energy for process heat, heat pump systems, ground source heat pumps, and the modeling of borehole heat exchangers. His ongoing work in
building energy efficiency directly addresses the technical challenges of decarbonising thermal energy
systems in modern urban environments.

Carlos Vargas-Salgado is an Associate Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and a researcher at the Institute for Energy Engineering (IIE) at the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV). He holds a PhD in Engineering and Industrial Production, bringing extensive expertise in energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies.

Since 2005, Dr. Vargas Salgado has focused his research on the development of smart grids and microgrids, successfully integrating solar, wind, and biomass gasification with advanced battery storage. His work spans the entire project lifecycle, from design and optimization to automation and control. With a strong background in industrial energy savings—particularly in boilers, steam networks, and cogeneration systems—his practical and research experience is highly valuable for driving decarbonisation strategies in urban environments.

David Alfonso Solar is an Associate Professor in the Department of Applied Thermodynamics and a Senior Researcher at the Institute for Energy Engineering (IIE) at the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV). With a background in environmental chemical engineering and international experience—including a Marie Curie fellowship in Italy—he has been advancing research in distributed energy resources and renewable energy integration since 2001.

His extensive research portfolio focuses on hybrid renewable microgrids, biomass energy optimization, and energy simulation tools. Highly relevant to the transition of urban environments, Dr. Alfonso Solar’s recent impactful work addresses city-level decarbonisation strategies, the assessment of rooftop photovoltaic potential, energy poverty, and the improvement of thermal comfort in Mediterranean cities. He is a highly active academic and mentor, having participated in over 30 research projects and supervised more than 80 university theses.