Faculty researchers reach final of National Challenge Fund
An initial total of 96 teams were funded under the Challenge Fund - a €65 million competitive programme aiming to deliver solutions for Ireland across a range of major environmental and societal issues.
The nine finalists announced today - including a faculty team lead by Professor Mary Pryce, School of Chemical Sciences and Dr Rob O’Connor, School of Physical Sciences - will now have the chance to seek further funding in the final phase of the programme, where €1 million will be on offer under the 2050 and Future Digital Challenges.
“In this project, green hydrogen will be produced by electrolysis - the splitting of water into hydrogen and oxygen,” says Dr Pryce.
“This will be done by harnessing renewable electricity from wind or solar energy. Green hydrogen is produced with zero associated carbon dioxide emissions,” says Dr Pryce.
Ireland has stringent climate action and decarbonisation targets to meet by 2050. The SFI 2050 Challenge addresses these by providing funding for researchers in Ireland to identify innovative ways to reach them.
“Traditionally electrolysers use precious metals such as platinum, which is rated as a critical raw material by the EU,” says Dr Pryce. “We propose to replace platinum with synthetically designed materials (in our labs at DCU) based on more commonplace and cheaper metals.”
“We are excited to be part of the solution to decarbonise the Irish economy and society,” says Dr Pryce.
The Fund is a competitive programme aiming to deliver solutions for Ireland’s major environmental and societal issues. Prof Pryce, School of Chemical Sciences, and Dr O’Connor have received initial funding under the Fund, which is funded by the EU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility.
Each team finalist is being awarded up to €500,000 funding for the next 12 months. They will spend the next year advancing prototyping activities and demonstrating how the solutions they are developing can create tangible value by addressing the specific societal needs identified and refined in the previous phases of the funding programme.
SFI National Challenge Fund 2050