The deadline to apply for the funding call is on 1 July 2025.
A new call seeking proposals which could help accelerate Ireland’s clean energy transition has been launched by the Sustainable Energy Authority Ireland (SEAI).
With support from the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications, SEAI will invest around €19m in a pipeline of energy research, development and demonstration (RD&D) projects over a number of years.
The 2025 call includes two strands, a themed one and an open one. The thematic strand includes research topics co-developed by SEAI in consultation with Government departments and agencies. These themes include heat, electricity, grid flexibility, electric vehicle grants, energy modelling, maritime transport and energy poverty, among others.
While the open strand is available to any research that contributes to Ireland’s clean energy transition.
This year, the call includes co-funding partnerships with Met Éireann, the Climate Change Advisory Council and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. The deadline to apply for the funding programme is on 1 July 2025.
The call is a part of SEAI’s National Energy RD&D programme, which has funded more than 240 projects upwards of €100m over the past six years.
These projects bring solutions to a wide array of energy solutions, including wind, bioenergy, energy markets, smart grids, transportation and energy policy, among others.
In addition to launching the funding call today (19 May), SEAI has also released the first impact report for the National Energy RD&D programme.
The report states that more than 100 projects – resulting in more than 60 software tools, platforms and models – came out of the programme between 2018 and 2019.
In that time period, the programme spent more than €3.2m in co-funding, supporting dozens of researchers and students along the way.
“Research and innovation are vital enablers for delivery of Ireland’s energy and climate ambitions,” said Minister for Climate, Environment and Energy Darragh O’Brien, TD.
The director of research and policy insight at SEAI, Margie McCarthy, said that fostering an environment of advanced research is a pivotal step to address the pressing challenges of energy sustainability and efficiency.
“SEAI supports for research, development and demonstration aim to drive advancements that will benefit our communities and contribute significantly to Ireland’s national strategy for a sustainable future.”
Last week, Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science James Lawless, TD, told third-level institutions in the country that his department intends to place “particular emphasis” on strengthening Ireland’s research performance.
While just days ago, the Health Innovation Hub Ireland launched a national call inviting AI-based solutions to pressing challenges in Irish healthcare.
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