An insightful day at the National IEA Technology Collaboration Programme day.

Background

76 researchers spanning industry, public sector organisations and academia, currently represent Ireland in the International Energy Agency Technology Collaboration Programmes (TCPs). The IEA TCPs are international consortia aiming to address both national and international energy challenges across a broad range of energy research areas and technologies, from bioenergy to wind, and spanning ocean energy systems, all the way to heat pumping technologies. 

The IEA TCPs are international groups performing research, informing best practice and contributing to state-of-the-art reports across a wide range of energy research areas and technologies. Currently, Irish researchers participate in 11 TCPs in renewable research areas ranging from large scale state-wide technology deployment, to domestic household installation, and from technology development, to the social and environmental impacts of such technologies. In this way, Irish energy experts are contributing to sustainable and responsible integration of renewable energy solutions for the future.  

Irish researchers are shaping the international energy landscape through their involvement in the IEA TCPs. Researchers attend international meetings and report back to SEAI on project progress and research developments which are of strategic relevance to Ireland. One aspect of this feedback is participant attendance at the National IEA TCP Day and collaboration with SEAI to draw from their international experience to support the sustainable energy transition in Ireland.  

My experience at the National IEA TCP day, hosted by SEAI

SEAI hosted the second annual IEA TCP Day for Irish researchers who participate in the TCPs on the 8^th May 2025. This event is held annually for the Irish delegates to promote collaboration and communication, both within and between the TCPs, and to provide a platform for participants to share insights with external stakeholders including policymakers and funding agents. The theme this year was Ireland’s carbon budgets and the role for research in our efforts to meet these budgets. IEA TCP participants attended across the breadth of TCPs and presented future recommendations for policymakers specific to their research areas and expertise.   

Morning session

Our introductory session on the day was launched by Kerrie Sheehan – Head of Department for Research, Innovation and Electricity in SEAI, who set the scene regarding the role of SEAI in supporting Irish energy research. Then, our keynote speaker - Prof Hannah Daly of UCC - provided a comprehensive overview of Ireland’s carbon budgets and highlighted five actions for 90% Energy Emissions Savings to 2030. Once Hannah had provided context regarding the national carbon budgets, we held a fishbowl discussion and asked researchers - what are the biggest challenges and barriers to applying their research to real world policy to meet Ireland’s carbon budgets and what areas of research are most urgently needed to support Ireland to stay within the current carbon budgets or for future budgets? 

The Irish participants emphasised how time is critical and that we need immediate change if we are to reach our national goals for carbon emissions reduction. Beyond technical solutions, much time on the day was given to how we can link sectors and incorporate social as well as environmental factors in this transition. In one example, this might look like fostering early collaborative community engagement with communities impacted by renewable technology deployment, such as wind farms, rather than tokenistic discussions following completion of a project. These conversations at the TCP Day showcased the importance of broad perspectives across energy research, with opinions and experience varying widely depending on the specific research area of the participant, underscoring the importance of incorporating representative viewpoints when designing and implementing fair policy measures for a net zero transition. 

Afternoon session

For the afternoon session, these threads continued as we heard from researchers in different TCPs focusing on topics such as biofuels, shared e-mobility integration into Irish urban areas, environmental impacts of wind technologies and the integration of community perspectives into renewable technology deployment. Growing up near to Rosslare Europort in Wexford and having taken the ferry myself to France and Wales on numerous occasions, I can see the importance of increasing usage of biofuels in the maritime industry as demonstrated by Tom Walsh’s presentation on the day. Tom highlighted some stark statistics from recent years that 40% of all products transported by global shipping are fossil fuels and that 100% of international shipping relies on fossil fuel powered ships. As an island nation and with an Irish sea area ten times our land mass, it is critical to forward research in this area to decarbonise this sector.   

Having a background in science communication myself, John Aston’s presentation on “how Ireland can integrate renewable energy projects with host community development - and more rapidly meet climate targets” piqued my interest. His discussion of models of engagement with communities, ranging from manipulation to citizen control, resonated with my knowledge of models of communication and experience of the importance of any “expert” area engaging with communities. This is critical, not just across the renewable space, but for all disciplines in my opinion. Indeed, one example in the renewable technology area, is the increasing prevalence of legal action of communities against wind farms (including in my own native county). For me, the importance of collaboration with communities is difficult to deny.

The variation in talks continued on the day with Nicola Largey presenting on the Wind TCP WREN (Working Together to Resolve Environmental Effects of Wind Energy) Task and underscoring the need for us to consider environmental implications of wind turbines. For example, birds and bats are both impacted by the instalment of such technologies, something that I had not consciously reflected on previously. On a contrasting note, Darren Louet Feisser took us through the steps of designing and implementing a shared e-mobility network across the greater Dublin area and Jerry Murphy gave an insightful presentation on circular economy approaches to renewable fuel production, inspiring me to learn more about this area for the future. Reflecting on the day, it was clear that each researcher was contributing to individual aspects of the big picture and that with each contribution, we are making strides to create new sustainable technologies which are carbon neutral, environmentally or ecosystem conscious and harmonise with communities. 

My key learnings from the day

Some key themes which emerged from the TCP Day were challenges with research knowledge transfer to policy, communication of research, and collaboration across agencies and stakeholders in Ireland to implement meaningful solutions. It is difficult to capture the varied insights and takeaways from the day in a concise way, but some key points I took were that Irish researchers are keen for research and evidence to inform policy for the future and that researchers feel there are process challenges in how to integrate existing solutions into policy. What was evident from the day is that there is much work to be done, however, Irish researchers are eager to contribute to the renewable energy transition across the board.