Two DCU projects win the final of the Research Ireland National Challenge Fund
Future Food Systems Challenge
Enda is co-lead of the NanoSA team alongside Dr Niall Maloney, Atlantic Technological University and Societal Impact Champion Catherine McManus, Mowi Ireland. The team won the Future Food Systems Challenge, receiving €2million in funding.
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.
Sustainable Communities Challenge
Dr Jennifer Gaughran is co-lead of PUreTex, alongside Dr Susan Kelleher and Societal Impact Champion Claire Downey, The Rediscovery Centre. PUreTex has won the Sustainable Communities Challenge, receiving €2million in funding.
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.
About the National Challenge Fund
The National Challenge Fund is a €65M research fund established under the Government of Ireland’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), developed by the Government so that Ireland can access funding under the EU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility.
The Recovery and Resilience Facility is the largest component of NextGenerationEU, the European Union’s response to the global pandemic. The aim is to help repair the immediate economic and social damage brought about by the pandemic and to prepare for a post-Covid Europe that is greener, more digital, more resilient, and fit to face the future.
The National Challenge Fund supports academic researchers to work with government, enterprise, public sector organisations and societal stakeholders to address national priorities for Ireland. This fund is coordinated and administered by Research Ireland. The initiative addresses key national challenges in the areas of Green Transition and Digital Transformation and consists of eight challenges (five Green and three Digital).