Dr. Alexandros Arsalis is a Senior Researcherat the PHAETHON Centre of Excellence,University of Cyprus, where he leads theGreen Hydrogen Energy Systems Group.He holds a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineeringfrom Aalborg University and an M.S. fromVirginia Tech, both with a strong emphasison hydrogen-based energy technologies.An internationally recognized expert inhydrogen systems, he has extensive experiencein the design, modeling, optimization,and experimental validation of integratedgreen hydrogen solutions. His work focuseson system-level strategies that advancethe transition toward resilient, low-carbonenergy infrastructures. He has authoredover 65 peer-reviewed publications andsecured competitive fellowships and researchgrants from diverse funding programs.He has also played key roles in severalinternational research consortia on hydrogenand sustainable energy, including HorizonEurope projects. Beyond his research, he isactively involved in education and training,having taught courses on renewable energysystems, numerical methods, and hydrogentechnologies. In parallel, he contributes tocapacity-building efforts through Erasmus+projects on green hydrogen education acrossEurope and the Mediterranean. Additionally,he serves on editorial boards. Committedto science outreach, he actively promotespublic engagement and knowledge transferthrough various events, workshops, andtraining initiatives. Fanourios Kourougianni is a Researcher atthe PHAETHON Centre of Excellence, Universityof Cyprus. He holds an M.Eng. inMechanical Engineering from the NationalTechnical University of Athens. His expertiselies in the advanced modeling and optimizationof energy systems for the built environment.His current research focuses on thetechno-economic assessment of green hydrogentechnologies, with particular emphasison their integration into sustainable buildingapplications. Dr. Andreas V. Olympios is a ResearchAssociate at the PHAETHON Centre of Excellence,University of Cyprus, within theSustainable Buildings and Cities pillar. Heholds a Ph.D. in Clean Energy Processes fromImperial College London and an M.Eng. inMechanical Engineering from the Universityof Nottingham, where he graduated top ofhis class and received the IMechE InstitutionBest Student Award. His research expertisespans the design and operational optimizationof energy conversion and storage technologies,as well as strategic building andurban energy planning. He has authored over45 publications in high-impact journals andinternational conferences and has collaboratedwith major industrial partners. He isactively involved in multi-partner nationaland EU-funded research projects and servesas an Editor for Applied Energy and an expertevaluator for several EU programs. His researchin the hydrogen field focuses on the techno-economic modeling of green hydrogentechnologies and their integration intomulti-energy-vector systems. Dr. Charalampos Konstantinou is a ResearchAssociate in the Department of Civiland Environmental Engineering and thePHAETHON Centre of Excellence at the Universityof Cyprus. He holds an M.Eng. fromthe National Technical University of Athens(graduated 2nd), an M.Sc. from Imperial CollegeLondon (graduated 1st), and a Ph.D.from the University of Cambridge. His researchfocuses on the hydromechanics of biocementedsands, porous media flow in energyand water systems, and data-drivenmodeling for resource management. He hasauthored over 45 peer-reviewed publications,contributed to multiple EU-funded researchprojects, and is co-inventor of a patented flowapparatus. He has extensive teaching experience,having taught at the University of Cambridge,the University of Cyprus, and mostrecently at the Harvard Kennedy School. Georgios Yiasoumas is a Researcher at thePHAETHON Centre of Excellence, Universityof Cyprus. His research interests coverthe broader energy sector, with a focus on energy communities, local energy markets, andhydrogen technologies. He holds an M.Eng.in Electrical and Computer Engineering fromthe National Technical University of Athens(2020) and an M.Sc. in Sustainable Engineeringfrom the University of Strathclyde (2021).During his studies, he received the GrigorisFarakos Prize for Academic Excellence (2018-2019), awarded to the top three students inthe Schools of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering at NTUA specializing in energy. Panos Papanastasiou is a Professor in theDepartment of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Cyprus, wherehe also serves as Director of the Natural GasEngineering and Energy Transition Program.He is a Member of the Board of Directorsof the PHAETHON Centre of Excellence. Heholds an M.Eng. from the National TechnicalUniversity of Athens (1984) and an M.Sc.(1986) and Ph.D. (1990) from the Universityof Minnesota. Before joining academia, hespent over 15 years in the oil and gas industryas a researcher and consultant. Hiscurrent research focuses on the challengesof energy transition, including carbon captureand storage (CCS), geological hydrogenstorage, and the cracking and degradationof photovoltaic systems. He has publishedover 90 peer-reviewed journal articles, 120conference papers and book chapters, editedsix conference proceedings and books, andholds three patents. He currently serves asEditor-in-Chief of Geomechanics for Energy andthe Environment (Elsevier). Dr. Aravind Purushothaman Vellayani is aProfessor and Chair of Energy Conversion atthe Energy and Sustainability Research InstituteGroningen (ESRIG), Faculty of Scienceand Engineering, University of Groningen,where he also serves as Director of HydrogenEconomy at the Wubbo Ockels School.He holds an M.Sc. from the University ofOldenburg and a Ph.D. from TU Delft, wherehis doctoral research focused on biomassgasification, solid oxide fuel cells, and microturbine systems for high-efficiency energyconversion. His research centers on thedevelopment and integration of advancedfuel cell technologies and hydrogen-basedenergy systems. At Groningen, he leads adedicated laboratory for hydrogen and fuel cell research, supervising multiple Ph.D.candidates and postdoctoral researchers. Heteaches courses on hydrogen technologies,fuel cell systems, and the thermodynamics ofenergy conversion. He previously served asLead of the Interfaculty Negative EmissionsProgram at the TU Delft Climate Instituteand as Chair of the Department AdvisoryBoard at the SCT College of Engineering,Kerala Technical University. He also chairedthe KnowHy Foundation, continuing theeducational mission of the EU-fundedKnowHy project, which he coordinated. Prof. Soteris Kalogirou is a Professor in theDepartment of Mechanical Engineeringand Materials Science and Engineering atthe Cyprus University of Technology. Inaddition to his Ph.D., he holds a D.Sc. and isinternationally recognized for his pioneeringcontributions to renewable energy. He is aFellow of the European Academy of Sciences,a Founding Member of the Cyprus Academyof Sciences, Letters and Arts, a Member ofAcademia Europaea, and a Fellow of theInternational Artificial Intelligence IndustryAlliance. For over 35 years, he has conductedresearch in solar energy, with expertiseencompassing solar collectors, solar waterheating, solar steam generation, desalination, photovoltaics, geothermal energy, andabsorption cooling. He has published extensively,authoring numerous journal articles,book chapters, and conference papers. Hisbooks Solar Energy Engineering: Processes andSystems and Thermal Solar Desalination: Methods and Systems (Academic Press, Elsevier)are widely recognized references in the field.He currently serves as Editor-in-Chief ofRenewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews. George E. Georghiou is a Professor and the Director of FOSS Research Centre for Sustainable Energy, University of Cyprus. Prior to this, he was a Lecturer and the undergraduate course leader in Electrical Engineering at the University of Southampton, and a Research Fellow at the Electricity Utilization Group, University of Cambridge. Having graduated from the University of Cambridge with a BA, MEng, MA all with distinction and a PhD, Dr Georghiou continued his work at the University of Cambridge in the capacity of a Research Fellow (1999-2002). Prof. Georghiou is currently a member of the CENELEC and IEC committees on PV and is acting as an expert evaluator for Horizon 2020 energy proposals as well as being a member of CIGRE and the European Solar Energy Industrial Initiative. He also represents Cyprus on the SET plan steering committee. Prof. Georghiou has published over 400 papers in international journals and conference proceedings and his team has obtained research funding in excess of 18 million Euros from bodies such as the European Union, Industry (such as Honeywell, Q Cells etc), the National Funding Agency etc.Amongst his scholarly achievements, are six outstanding paper awards for the most significant technical scientific contributions and an innovation prize.
