Date released: February 20, 2025
20 February 2025: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced new funding for environmental and climate research in Ireland, with funding of €14.5 million awarded for 25 new research projects. These innovative, policy-relevant projects will address key knowledge gaps and support the development of vital research capacity in strategically important areas.
The latest EPA Research Call garnered a strong response, with 50 per cent of successful lead researchers not having previously applied to the EPA for funding. This is a welcome and positive trend that reflects a broadening of the research base in Ireland relevant to environmental and climate issues.
Projects that will receive EPA funding this year include topics such as:
Announcing the funding awards, Laura Burke, EPA Director General said:
“Our latest EPA State of the Environment Report highlights the scale of challenges facing Ireland and the need for determined action across climate, , sustainable consumption, biodiversity and pollution goals. This new EPA funding will help to build the vital research talent and knowledge needed in Ireland to respond to these challenges and achieve a healthier environment. I congratulate the successful research teams and look forward to seeing the positive impacts these projects will have on environmental protection in the years ahead.”
The latest EPA funding is significant in terms of further building the environmental research capacity in Ireland. It will support almost 200 research staff across 10 organisations, including funding for approximately 50 PhD and postgraduate students. Crucially, the EPA will provide hands-on support and training to the researchers to facilitate the uptake of the research outputs by policy makers and other users. Trinity College Dublin (TCD) received the highest number of successful research awards in 2024.
Dean of Research at Trinity College Dublin, Prof. Sinéad Ryan, commented:
“I offer my warm congratulations to our researchers and their teams on securing this EPA funding. This funding is a key enabler for research across a number of our disciplines with a focus in conservation, sustainability and/or climate adaptation. I commend our researchers for their vision and commitment to transformative research that addresses societal challenges, and I look forward to seeing these projects develop.”
Reflecting the importance of collaboration in addressing climate and environmental challenges, the EPA is working in partnership with Met Éireann and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine to co-fund a number of the projects.
The list of Funding Awards made under the EPA Research Call 2024 is available on the EPA website with full project details in the EPA’s online Research Database.
The EPA Research Programme is a Government of Ireland initiative funded by the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications. The EPA Research Call 2025 will open for applications in April 2025. Details will be made available on the EPA website.
Contact: Emily Williamson, EPA Media Relations Office, 053-9170770 (24 hours) or media@epa.ie.
Notes to Editor
As part of its wide range of functions, the EPA manages a research programme that delivers essential scientific support for environmental policy development, implementation and broader decision making. The EPA has been funding research in Ireland since 1994 and is currently funding more than 200 on-going research projects.
Supporting environmental policies:
The annual EPA Research Call is a key element of the EPA 2030 Research Strategy which provides scientific support for environmental policy development, implementation and broader decision making across four thematic areas:
The EPA Research Programme is designed to support the implementation of environmental policies in Ireland, such as the Climate Action Plan; National Climate Adaption Framework; Circular Economy Action Plans and Strategies; the Biodiversity National Action Plan the National Radon Strategy; National Land Use Evidence Review; UN Sustainable Development Goals’ Implementation Plan; as well as a range of key policy areas including water, air, radon, and other areas of interest for the EPA.
EPA Research provides support to all types of organisations within Ireland through a variety of funding mechanisms and partnerships. Further details about the EPA Research Programme are on the EPA website.
EPA Research Call 2024 – further information
The EPA Research Call 2024 addressed the following selected areas from the EPA’s Thematic Research Priorities 2024-2026:
A total of 130 eligible applications were received to the EPA Research Call 2024 with 25 being funded in 2024. Almost 200 research staff will be supported through the projects funded under the EPA Research Call 2024. This represents all those declared as working on the project and includes the lead and co-investigators, research team members, students and support staff. Of the 194 people declared as being involved in the funded projects, 73 will be directly funded through the research grants.
A full list of the funded projects is provided below. For full details on the awards granted through the EPA Research Call 2024 and other research funding by the EPA in 2024, please refer to the EPA Research Database.
Funding opportunities 2025: It is planned that further proposals from the EPA Research Call 2024 will be funded in 2025. In addition, the EPA Research Call 2025 that is expected to launch in April will consist of targeted topics focused on specific policy areas. Other EPA funding opportunities this year include EPA Fast-track to Policy Funding; Fulbright-EPA Scholarships and Fellowships; as well as opportunities supported through EPA’s participation in National and European Partnerships. Up to date information is available on our Research Funding webpage.
List of Awards made under the EPA Research Call 2024
| Lead Applicant | Lead Organisation | Project Title | Grant Aid Committed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Addressing Climate Change Evidence Needs | |||
| Vahin Aryanpur | University College Cork (UCC) | Safeguarding Ireland's Energy Transition against Critical Materials Supply Disruption and Geopolitical Dynamics | €328,652 |
| Michael Breen | Dublin City University (DCU) | E-WASTE: Mitigating the Risks of Electronic Waste to achieve Ireland's Climate and Environmental Goals | €329,909 |
| Peter Thorne | Maynooth University (MU) | Weather Attribution Science Irish operaTional User Service | €650,803* |
| Jin Zhao | Trinity College (TCD) | enhance Climate adaptation and extreme weather resilience of highly renewable penetrated Irish Electricity Network (CRIE) | €654,954 |
| Julie Clarke | Trinity College (TCD) | Resilience Enhancement and Supportive Climate Change Adaptation Toolkit for Local Authorities | €659,026* |
| Alina Premrov | Atlantic Technological University (ATU) | Advanced Integrated Measurements and Modelling Approaches for Predicting Carbon Emissions and Removals from Irish Peatlands | €611,46** |
| Niall Dunphy | University College Cork (UCC) | Understanding Irish people's attitudes, beliefs and values related to climate change | €658,181 |
| Thomas van Rensburg | University of Galway | Climate Insights and Values in Ireland's Communities | €509,620 |
| Delivering a Healthy Environment | |||
| Muhammad Ali | Trinity College (TCD) | Nano-AGS: Development of Energy-Efficient, Low-Maintenance Nano-Bubble Assisted Aerobic Granular Sludge for On-site Domestic Waste Water Treatment System | €659,475 |
| Alison Connolly | University College Dublin (UCD) | Human Biomonitoring for Ireland (HBM4IE) environmental chemical exposure study | €659,416 |
| Eileen Ryan | University College Cork (UCC) | DIetary expoSure and Risk to hEalth of Per- and -Poly fluroAlkyl substances: and Irish Perspective | €639,700 |
| Peter Dunne | Trinity College Dublin (TCD) | Deep Utectic Solvents for Inorganic Green Nanomaterials | €657,286 |
| Eoin McGillicuddy | Technological University Dublin (TU Dublin) | Mobile Air Monitoring in Agricultural Settings | €658,728 |
| Debi Stanistreet | Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland | Mitigating the Impact of Air Pollution on Health in Ireland through a Multi-pronged Approach | €496,467 |
| Facilitating a Green and Circular Economy | |||
| Amit Jaiswal | Technological University Dublin (TU Dublin) | Urban Woody Biomass Sustainability through Nanoncellulose & Lignin-Based Biomaterials Production for Water Purification and Adhesive Applications | €641,925 |
| Jennifer Attard | Munster Technological University (MUT) | Just Transition for Agriculture in the Circular Bioeconomy | €659,061 |
| Enrico Secchi | University College Dublin (UCD) | Just Transition in Ireland's Circular Economy: Scaling and Supporting Irish Food and Fashion Resource and Recovery | €658,412 |
| Vijai Khumar Gupta | Dublin City University (DCU) | Developing a Sustainable Biorefinery System for Textile Waste in Ireland | €659,875 |
| Archishman Bose | University College Cork (UCC) | Regenerative Value Systems for Irish Grown Wool in Ireland | €657,403 |
| Mohammad Reza Ghaani | Trinity College (TUD) | Green Circularity and Industrial Symbiosis: Pathways to Sustainable Industry Practices in Ireland | €517,400 |
| Protecting and Restoring our Natural Environment | |||
| Silvia Cardararu | Trinity College (TUD) | Ecological Forecasting of Tree Resistance to Pathogens: Ash Dieback and Beyond | €591,061** |
| Laurence Gill | Trinity College (TUD) | Fen Conservation, Restoration and Ecosystem Services | €659,820 |
| Grace Cott | University College Dublin (UCD) | Solutions for Optimal Restoration of Saltmarshes | €657,930 |
| Jimmy O'Keeffe | Dublin City University (DCU) | Farming Resilience and Management through Natural Capital | €328,454** |
| Louise Fitzgerald | Dublin City University (DCU) | JUSTLAND: A Just Transition for Land in Ireland | €303,490** |
* Co-funding provided by Met Éireann
** Co-funding provided by Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine