Manufacturing & Supply Chain

Since last year, Irish energy research projects have successfully secured €18m in EU funds for Ireland.  That is according to the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) who today launched a joint publication with Enterprise Ireland entitled “Building on Ireland’s Energy Research Performance”.  The report showcases academic and industry exemplars successfully leading and participating in EU funded energy projects in areas including energy storage, marine technologies, smart grid, efficient buildings and sustainable transport.

For the past eight years Ireland’s energy research diversity and competence continues to grow, placing Irish researchers in an enviable position to capitalise on funding from Horizon 2020 (H2020).  Launched last year, H2020 is the EU’s largest research and innovation programme with an energy budget of €6 billion for the period 2014 to 2020.

Commenting Alex White, T.D. Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resource said, “EU sustainable energy research and development investment contributes significantly to the success of Irish business and academia. Attracting this investment enhances Ireland’s performance in research and innovation while driving economic benefits and job creation.”

The H2020 two year work programme for 2016-2017 was formally published last week by the European Commission with a call for topics open from 1 October 2015. SEAI, in collaboration with Enterprise Ireland, is calling on Irish industry, academia and the public sector to apply for the next round of energy research funding through the H2020 funding programme.

Brian Motherway, CEO of SEAI, said, “The Irish energy research community is reaping the rewards from active participation in EU research programmes while addressing some of the main challenges facing the energy system.  The resulting technology developments, delivered through collaborative approaches between universities and industry, are set to make substantial inroads in our move to cleaner energy, smarter energy systems and more user friendly buildings.“

Examples of successful projects funded to date include the Nimbus Centre, Cork’s COOPERATE project which aims to develop a system to integrate renewables to the grid and provide greater energy management at community level. UCC’s ENTRUST project is developing community engagement tools to change consumer behaviour relating to energy use, while EXERGYN has developed a system that generates power from waste heat.

To read more about the successful projects or to download a copy of titled “Building on Ireland’s Energy Research Performance” log onto www.seai.ie