SEAI awarded €20.5 million in 2025 for 34 new research projects
34 cutting-edge energy research projects and fellowships were awarded €20.5 million in Government funding as part of the 2025 SEAI National Energy Funding Programme.
The SEAI National Energy Funding Programme is an initiative helping Irish researchers, innovators, and industry leaders accelerate the country’s transition to a low-carbon, secure, and sustainable energy system.
Powering innovation across Ireland
The successful recipients include 25 Research, Development and Demonstration (RD&D) projects and 9 Energise Fellowships. Together, these initiatives cover a diverse and vital set of research areas, from offshore wind and green hydrogen to smart buildings and carbon capture. These technologies and solutions will shape how Ireland powers homes, travels, and reaches its climate targets in the coming decades.
Developing Ireland’s future research leaders
The Energise Fellowships Programme continues to strengthen Ireland’s energy research ecosystem. The programme supports both early‑career and mid‑career researchers and helps them:
- Build national research capacity
- Bridge the gap between research and policy
- Support evidence-based decision making
- Cultivate Ireland’s next generation of research leaders
The 2025 fellows will explore topics such as energy poverty alleviation, offshore energy, energy-efficient buildings, biofuels, and hydrogen technologies.
Collaborating to tackle climate challenges
SEAI collaborates with national organisations to co-fund important research themes. For the 2025 RD&D call, SEAI worked with:
- Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) to support research on sustainable feedstocks for anaerobic digestion
- Climate Change Advisory Council to fund the development of low‑emission, equitable transport strategies
- Met Éireann to support research on renewable energy forecasting in Ireland’s changing climate
These partnerships amplify the impact of national energy research. They help ensure Ireland’s climate and energy policies rely on solid, independent scientific evidence.
A nationwide network of innovation
These projects span a wide range of research institutions, universities, agencies, and private sector innovators across Ireland. Across all projects and fellowships, the programme will benefit a broad selection of organisations with 16 receiving funding as leads or partners and 29 as collaborators.
Driving Ireland’s sustainable future
This investment not only drives new technologies and insights for decarbonisation but also empowers the people and institutions leading Ireland’s clean energy transition.
2026 SEAI RD&D Call
The 2026 SEAI RD&D Call will open for applications soon, offering both open and thematic strands. The next Energise Fellowships Call will also open shortly. Keep an eye on the SEAI website for further details.
You can read about the exciting work being done by SEAI-funded energy research on the National Energy Research Database.
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