The establishment of the Institute of Thermal Engineering may be regarded as the culmination of the life’s work of Professor Bohdan Stefanowski, DSc, PhD Eng., in the field of organising laboratories for thermal machinery. He organised the first laboratory of this kind in 1914 at the Lviv Polytechnic, and the second—after the First World War—at the Warsaw University of Technology, which he headed continuously until the outbreak of the Second World War. As early as the 1920s, Professor Stefanowski emphasised the need to construct a large, independent building dedicated to the Laboratory of Heat Engineering. He also planned to commence the organisation of the Institute of Heat Engineering at the Warsaw University of Technology on 1 September 1939; however, the outbreak of the Second World War interrupted these plans.

After 1945, Professor Stefanowski served as the first Rector of Łódź University of Technology, where he founded the Laboratory of Thermal Engineering. Upon returning to Warsaw in 1948, he undertook the reconstruction of the Department of Heat Engineering, including its laboratory. As a result of his efforts and the involvement of his collaborators, construction of the Heat Engineering Building began in 1951 and was completed in 1953. This building became the seat of departments and later divisions associated with the broadly understood field of heat engineering.

11 January 1961 is regarded as the date initiating the establishment of the Institute of Heat Engineering, when the Faculty Council decided to appoint the IHE Organising Committee. Its members included representatives from the Department of Industrial and Aircraft Combustion Engines, the Department of Boilers, Turbines, and Pumps, and the Department of Heat Engineering. On 15 June 1963, the Institute of Heat Engineering was formally established as a research institution. The Institute consisted of two in-house divisions: the Division of Power Engineering and Energy Management and the Division of Thermal Power Engineering, and it also engaged staff from the aforementioned departments.

As of 1 September 1970, the organisational structure of the Warsaw University of Technology was reformed by establishing institutes as teaching and research units. As a result of these changes, all divisions located in the existing Heat Engineering Building were formally incorporated into the Institute of Heat Engineering.

Throughout its history, the Institute’s activities have focused on the broadly understood field of heat engineering. The main areas of activity include measurements of basic thermal properties of various materials and substances; research on combustion phenomena (including detonation), encompassing the development of new designs and the modification of existing ones, such as piston, turbine, and rocket engines; rotating detonation engines; as well as gas and steam turbines and water pumps.

In addition, the Institute conducts research on cooling and air-conditioning systems, energy storage technologies, exhaust gas cleaning systems for the automotive, maritime, and power-generation industries, as well as issues related to the use of renewable energy sources and fuel cells for power engineering applications. An important area of activity also includes control systems for these installations and for energy systems as a whole, employing the latest technologies, including artificial intelligence.

The scope of work covers experimental measurements, numerical modelling, model development, as well as the design and construction of new systems and structures. As part of its scientific activity, the Institute carries out both applied (implementation-oriented) projects and fundamental research.