DrSalvador Acha Izquierdo

In his own words this is how Dr Acha describes his line of work:

“Using a systems-thinking approach I model and analyse how new technologies perform in real-world environments so I can provide recommendations on how to maximise their impact. This is a very exciting line of work as we strive to decarbonise operations across a wide range of economic sectors to mitigate the worst effects of climate change”.

Dr Salvador Acha, PhD, CEng is an academic focused on facilitating the transition towards Net Zero with over 15 years of experience developing and driving energy efficiency and sustainable solutions applied to energy intensive sectors.

Currently, Salvador is a Senior Research Fellow in the Department of Chemical Engineering and leads the Imperial College – Sainsbury’s Partnership. The partnership established in 2010 has been managed by Dr Acha which has supervised over 100 projects focusing on the enhancement of energy systems, evaluating low carbon technologies, and shaping long-term sustainability strategies. The output from these works is contributing in devising a comprehensive approach to transition and decarbonise Sainsbury's operations by 2035.

Due to his extensive and impactful work with Sainsbury's, Imperial College awarded Dr Acha the President's Medal for Excellence in External Collaboration and Partnerships in 2022.

Salvador specialises in developing decision-making frameworks that support stakeholders in understanding the implications derived from transforming how we source and consume energy and other key resources. In particular, his evidenced based research and techno-economic modelling of new technologies is contributing to understand the trade-offs low carbon integrated solutions bring to organisations and society; covering the areas of electricity, heating, cooling, transport, and water systems.

Salvador's research expertise is multi-disciplinary with a focus on smart energy systems through optimal design and operation of technologies as well as advanced control strategies of such systems by employing big data and optimisation techniques. This know-how is complimented with know-how about energy markets, policies, business acumen, and the practical implementation surrounding decarbonisation strategies in industry. He is a Chartered Engineer (CEng) and senior member of many renowned engineering societies such as IEEE, IET, CIBSE, UKGBC, and ASHRAE.

Due to his expertise, Salvador is currently co-leading the sustainability strategy of the Chemical Engineering Department and is a member of the Faculty of Engineering Sustainability Committee; supporting the decarbonisation of the college by sharing his insights into the Sustainable Imperial strategy. Furthermore, Salvador also has vast experience as a consultant for energy & engineering companies cementing his knowledge on current industry needs.

Over the years Salvador has been a frequent lecturer in various MSc courses at Imperial while also supervising over 75 post-graduate students and under-graduate students. His collaborative approach and good rapport has yielded many interesting publications and is the author or co-author of over 85 publications in top tier academic journals, conference proceedings and book chapters.

As a result of his expertise, Dr Acha is Associate Editor of the Energy Efficiency First (EEF) journal dedicated to the study and advancement of energy efficiency as the "First Energy" in support of achieving Net Zero through energy and economic transitions.

Salvador obtained in Mexico a BEng in Electronics and Communications from Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education (ITESM). In 2006, he joined the Urban Energy Systems Project at Imperial College London and achieved a PhD degree in Electrical Engineering. His thesis titled: “Impacts of Embedded Technologies on Optimal Operation of Energy Service Networks” focused on optimally integrating distributed energy sources into existing energy infrastructures; these modelling concepts were summarised in a book: "Modelling Distributed Energy Resources in Energy Service Networks" - published by the IET and translated into Mandarin for the Chinese market.