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Minister James Lawless announces over €6.9 million funding for final National Challenge Fund prize-winning teams
Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, James Lawless TD, today announced over €6.9 million in prize phase funding for four research teams across the final two challenge programmes under the National Challenge Fund, which focus on tackling textile waste and supporting sustainable aquaculture.
Funded by the EU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility, the Fund calls on researchers to identify problems related to Ireland’s Green Transition and Digital Transformation, and work directly with those most affected to solve them.
Minister Lawless said:
“The teams receiving funding today join a network of researchers supported through challenge-based funding programmes that are delivering real and tangible benefits for the people of Ireland. From pioneering new circular approaches to textile recycling, transforming mobility at community level, advancing sustainable aquaculture and resilient agrifood production, the teams have demonstrated exceptional ambition, scientific excellence, and a clear pathway to real-world impact.
I want to congratulate all of the teams – their achievements reflect not only their own dedication, but the strength of Ireland’s research ecosystem, and I look forward to seeing the solutions they will deliver over the coming months and years.”
PUreTex, led by Dr Susan Kelleher and co-led by Dr Jennifer Gaughran, Dublin City University with Societal Impact Champion Claire Downey, The Rediscovery Centre, has won the Sustainable Communities Challenge.
The EU burns or buries 60 garbage truckloads of textiles every minute, while globally, less than 1% of clothes are recycled back to clothing. PUreTex takes post-consumer textiles and, through key innovations such as chemical recycling, converts these materials into useful products like polyurethane (PU) foam insulation. Through the team’s collaboration with the Rediscovery Centre, it also aims to promote behavioural change in circular textile design and encourage more sustainable textile use.
There was an additional runner-up award under this Challenge for the CONUNDRUM team, led by Prof. Niamh Moore-Cherry, University College Dublin and co-lead Prof. Brian Caulfield, Trinity College Dublin with Societal Impact Champion Kieran Harrahill, TASC: Think-tank for Action on Social Change.
The NanoSA team, led by Dr Niall Maloney, Atlantic Technological University with co-lead Prof. Enda McGlynn, Dublin City University and Societal Impact Champion Catherine McManus, Mowi Ireland, has won the Future Food Systems Challenge.
Pathogenic infections are estimated to cost the global salmon aquaculture sector between €1.2 – 1.7 billion per year. Identifying the cause of infection typically requires sending samples to off‑site laboratories, often located far from farm operations. This leads to significant delays in receiving results and, consequently, delays in initiating effective treatment.
The NanoSA team is developing innovative lateral flow assay technology for the rapid point of care detection of key bacterial and viral pathogens that significantly impact the aquaculture sector. This will empower fish health experts with fast, reliable information, enabling them to make informed disease management decisions on-site, which will improve animal welfare and minimise losses.
In addition to the prize award, the SINFERT team was awarded runner-up funding under the Future Food Systems Challenge. Led by Dr Kirill Nikitin with co-lead Dr Simon Hodge, both of University College Dublin and Societal Impact Champions Peter Mooney, Dawn Meats Group and Lucas van der Saag, ICL Group.
Dr Diarmuid O’Brien, CEO, Research Ireland, said:
“As we embrace increasingly complex environmental and societal challenges, we are proud to support research teams who are delivering innovative, evidence-based solutions. At Research Ireland, we are committed to building partnerships where stakeholders are not passive beneficiaries but active co-creators, helping to drive decisions, shaping outcomes, and ensuring that innovation delivers real and meaningful benefit.
The teams receiving further funding today represent not only scientific excellence but the power of partnership between researchers, communities, industry, and policymakers. I congratulate all of the teams advancing to the next stage and look forward to seeing their projects translate into meaningful impactful outcomes.”
EU Commissioner for Democracy, Justice, the Rule of Law and Consumer Protection, Michael McGrath, said:
“Today marks a key milestone for the National Challenge Fund as the final cohort of teams progress to the Prize Phase of this programme. This vital initiative supports talented researchers to deliver solutions which will have impact within Irish communities at a local level, but also at an EU and international level – a strong example of how EU funding can have tangible impact from the ground-up. By advancing solutions in sustainable communities and future food systems, today’s teams are contributing directly to Europe’s priorities towards climate neutrality by 2050, resource efficiency and a circular economy.”
Dr Susan Kelleher, PUreTex Team Lead, Dublin City University, said:
“This funding means a great deal to us. The chance to work on a problem this important, alongside partners this strong, is a real privilege. Addressing textile waste at scale requires both rigorous fundamental research and a clear pathway to real-world impact, you cannot do one without the other. Understanding how end-of-life textiles can be broken down into high-purity, high-value building blocks is essential to developing high-performing insulation materials. Our partnership with the Rediscovery Centre, who bring expertise across circular design, policy, and industry engagement, will be central to ensuring this research creates genuine, lasting impact.”
Dr Niall Maloney, NanoSA Team Lead, Atlantic Technological University, said:
We’re thrilled to receive Prize phase funding under the Future Food Systems Challenge. This support allows us to continue developing our platform for rapid, farm‑site detection of pathogenic infections in salmon aquaculture. The training provided through the National Challenge Fund has been central in shaping our technological developments so that we’re addressing key challenges for the aquaculture industry. I’m grateful to our collaborators in DCU and to our industrial partners at Mowi – their involvement has been key to our success to date. We’re excited to continue this work and help build a more sustainable and resilient aquaculture food system.
Photo caption:
Left-Right: Colm O’Reardon, Secretary General, Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science; Dr Jennifer Gaughran, DCU, Co-lead PUreTex Team; Dr Niall Maloney, ATU, Lead of the NanoSA Team; Dr Susan Kelleher, DCU, Lead of the PUreTex team; and Dr Ruth Freeman, Director of Research for Society, Research Ireland. Photo: Johnny Mallin
Media enquiries:
Carl Gibney
E: carl.gibney@researchireland.ie
Tel: 0873623512
Claire Phelan
E: claire.phelan@researchireland.ie
Tel: 086 200 9758
