MaREI at UCC wins €4.2m funding for Floating Wind Testbed integrated with Energy System Observatory
MaREI at UCC’s Floating Wind Testbed integrated with Energy System Observatory (FLOWT-EOB), was granted €4.2m under the programme, an award that was co-funded by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI).
The project, led by Dr Jimmy Murphy, aims to provide an infrastructure that would be unique worldwide for addressing knowledge gaps and optimising energy utilisation. The primary component of FLOWT-EOB will be a 200kW floating wind platform, deployed in Cork Harbour.
Margie McCarthy, SEAI Director of Research and Policy Insights, said:
“SEAI is delighted to collaborate with SFI supporting Irish energy RD&D, co-funding this exciting demonstration infrastructure in Cork Harbour. We expect this particular project to unlock the significant potential for floating offshore wind in Irish coastal waters. Trial infrastructure and gathering delivery knowledge are key to achieving government ambitions in this sector and ultimately accelerating Ireland’s clean energy transition.”
Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Simon Harris TD, has today announced a €21 million investment in eight research infrastructure projects through the Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) Research Infrastructure programme. The awards, one of which is co-funded with Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI), will contribute to the advancement of high-quality and high-impact research activities.
Speaking today, Minister Harris said: “I am delighted to announce €21 million in funding from my department to support transformative research with both national and international impact. Ireland is committed to investing in high quality, pioneering research. The funding announced today does just that.
“This support builds and sustains the required infrastructural capacity we need that enables our research community to thrive across the fields of materials science, earth and environmental sciences, energy, engineering, physics, and neuroscience and behaviour.”
In welcoming the announcement, Prof Philip Nolan, Director General, Science Foundation Ireland, said: “The Research Infrastructure Programme funds state-of-the-art research infrastructure to drive excellent and highly collaborative research and innovation. The programme promotes transformative collaborations, in which increased inter-institutional and national sharing of research infrastructure across academia and enterprise makes for better research and accelerated innovation. The eight successful projects selected will help us, through research, to prepare for a challenging yet exciting future. The importance of this programme to our research system highlights the need for sustained and increased investment in research infrastructure over the coming decade.”
Further details on award recipients and their projects can be found here.
For more information about the research infrastructure programme, please visit: https://www.sfi.ie/funding/funding-calls/sfi-research-infrastructure-programme/
