The first research centre of CyI, founded in 2007 in partnership with MIT, is the Energy, Environment and Water Research Centre (EEWRC). Within it, an energy Division has been operating since 2010 and is one of the two largest groups in EEWRC and the Institute, along with the Environment and Climate Change Group. During its early formative years EEWRC has made rapid progress in its fields of competence, e.g., providing evidence that the EMME is a climate change “hotspot” and identifying the utilization of solar energy as a field in which research will be developed with huge potential for innovation. It has also developed and pursued an innovative concept for the co-generation of electricity and desalinated seawater via concentrated solar power. The research agenda of CyI and EEWRC has been nationally and regionally embedded through strong bilateral and EU collaborations to address adaptation to climate change and the restructuring of energy systems in the country.

The Cyprus Institute possesses and is developing significant infrastructure and facilities in the field of Solar Thermal Energy technologies, and it is in the process of significantly expanding its research team.