SEAI National Energy RD&D Funding Programme

SEAI National Energy RD&D Fund

Funds national energy research in Ireland through the Sustainable Energy Authority and partner organisations.

The SEAI National Energy RD&D Funding Programme is Ireland's flagship competitive research grant for innovative energy research, development, and demonstration projects. Administered by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) — a statutory body under the Sustainable Energy Act 2002 and Ireland's national sustainable energy authority — the programme funds projects that advance Ireland's transition to cleaner energy. The 2026 Open Call was confirmed active as of May 2026, continuing the programme's annual call structure.

Eligible applicants include Irish-based companies, universities, research bodies, and nonprofit organisations. Individuals are not eligible. Applications must address innovative energy challenges within the Irish energy sector; exact scope, award sizes, and scoring criteria are published in each year's call documentation. The programme has a documented impact record, with an RD&D Impact Report covering 2018–2019 published in 2025, and has supported a broad pipeline of Irish energy research projects over its history.

The 2026 call process follows SEAI's standard competitive evaluation model: applicants submit proposals, which are assessed against published criteria by SEAI's research team. Interested organisations should download the 2026 call documentation from the SEAI website and direct programme queries to energyresearch@seai.ie. Given the annual cadence, applicants should monitor the SEAI research funding page closely for deadline announcements, as call windows are time-limited once opened.