The Centro de Investigaciones Energéticas, Medioambientales y Tecnológicas (CIEMAT) is a Spanish Public Research Institution owned by the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness. Since its founding in 1951, it has developed and led R+D projects in the fields of Energy, Environment and Technology, placing the institution at the forefront of science and technology. Its activities include the promotion, introduction and improvement of renewable energies on the energy market, as well as promotion of technology transfer, training and scientific outreach. With approximately 1340 employees,

CIEMAT has a wide presence at international scientific and technical forums. In addition to the head offices and laboratories located in Madrid, CIEMAT owns several research centres in Spain. The Plataforma Solar de Almería, PSA, is one of these outlying centres located in south-east Spain. It is formally considered as European Large Scientific Installation and is also the largest R+D centre in the world devoted to research, development, and testing of concentrating solar thermal technologies. With a large and long lasting international collaboration with many other R+D centres and industries, the main objectives are the contribution to the establishment of a sustainable and clean world energy supply, as well as the technical and scientific promotion of solar thermal technologies and derived solar chemical processes, in order to contribute to the development of a competitive solar thermal industry. PSA is also one of the Singular Science and Technology Infrastructures (ICTS) of Spain. The good solar conditions, its diverse solar facilities, and the highly-skilled PSA staff provide a unique infrastructure for R+D on solar energy applications.