Pictured l-r: Dr Fionn Rogan, Research Fellow, Energy Policy and Modelling at UCC, Rosheen McGuckian, Chair of the NTR Foundation and Dr Brian O’Gallachoir, Principal Investigator at MaREI and Professor of Energy Policy and Modelling at UCC. Image via Conor Healy Photography
The marine energy research centre for Ireland – MaREI – has managed to secure €750,000 in funding to help develop marine energy technologies for use in Irish low-carbon technologies.
MaREI received the funding from the NTR Foundation, an independent philanthropic organisation, founded to address issues around climate change.
MaREI is a marine and renewable energy research, development and innovation centre supported by Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) and one of those listed on Siliconrepublic.com’s list of the leading marine energy research labs in Ireland last year.
The last major funding announcement made by the Irish marine research organisation occurred last January when it secured €4m in grants for research equipment and facilities from the SFI Infrastructure fund for an Open Ocean Emulator at University College Cork (UCC) and an MRE Remotely Operated Vehicle at the University of Limerick (UL).
Transitioning to a low-carbon economy
MaREI said that this recent round of funding received from the philanthropic organisation will be used to identify and exploit the opportunities for Ireland, the economy and SMEs in relation to how we best meet our future energy requirements.
As part of our agreement with the EU, Ireland has signed an agreement to have 16pc of the country’s energy produced by renewable energy sources by 2020, or risk facing substantial financial penalties.
Explaining how this funding will allow MaREI to examine the entire energy system rather than just electricity, the organisation’s principal investigator, Dr Brian O’Gallachoir, said: “[Single sector analysis has] limitations and is somewhat like trying to solve a Rubik’s cube by looking at one face only.
“Integrated energy systems modelling, on the other hand, allows all dimensions of the problem to be analysed together, enabling us to unlock the opportunities associated with the complete transition to a low-carbon economy.”
