AMBER Researchers lead National Challenge Fund prize-winning team

22 September 2025

AMBER Researchers Dr Séamus O’Shaughnessy and Co-lead: Dr Daniel Trimble have won the National Challenge Fund prize in the 2050 Challenge for ‘DRIVE’ – Improving thermal management of lithium-ion batteries in electric vehicles that results in increased battery performance and battery lifespan, and safer battery operation. The DRIVE Team is Lead by Dr Séamus O’Shaughnessy, TCD, Co-lead: Dr Daniel Trimble, TCD; and Societal Impact Champion: Dr Karl Brown, Jaguar Land Rover, UK.

Dr Séamus O’Shaughnessy, DRIVE team lead said:
“We’re delighted to be the team selected to progress to the Prize Phase of the National Challenge Fund: 2050 challenge. This wouldn’t have been possible without the continued commitment, hard work, and cutting-edge research carried out by all of our Team DRIVE researchers over the past ~ 2.5 years. The support from Research Ireland over the next 2 years will enable us to further develop and industrialise our novel lithium-ion battery thermal management solution to meet the needs of current and next generation battery applications, in particular electric vehicles.”

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. Ireland is expected to receive €988 million in grants under the 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).

DRIVE and AI2Peat teams are the first National Challenge Fund prize winners to be announced this year, which has supported 96 research teams since its launch in 2022. 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.