Monday 25 May 2026

The government has announced funding of €20m for 22 high-risk, high-reward research projects through the Research Ireland Frontiers for the Future Programme.

Tyndall awards

• CALIBRATE-TMD: Comprehensive Accurate and Fast, Experimentally Calibrated Modelling Platform for Transition-Metal Dichalcogenides in Nanoelectronics (€1.3m). Lead researcher Dr Farzan Gity and Co-PI Dr Lida Ansari are developing the first industry-ready simulation tool for Transition-Metal Dichalcogenides (TMD)-based devices.

TMDs show potential for low-power electronics. To realise this potential, the semiconductor industry needs accurate and fast modelling tools for TMDs. CALIBRATE-TMD aims to create – for the first time – an advanced industry-ready, science-enabled simulation tool using realistic TMD parameters from experimental data to design TMD-based devices. Intel will provide expertise in large-scale TMD growth, device fabrication, and integration.

Synopsys will support integration of the calibrated parameters into the multi-scale design tool. The resulting tool, validated with experimental data, will leverage advanced machine-learning algorithms to enhance fast, accurate, and scalable TMD device modelling and design.

• GREEN-MONITORING: Innovative RF energy harvesting to develop battery-less supply chain monitoring system (€800,000). Dr Brendan O’Flynn and his team are developing a battery-free IoT sensing system for supply chain monitoring by harvesting energy from ambient 4G/5G signals. Using efficient energy-conversion circuits, sustainable materials, and low-cost manufacturing methods like 3D and inkjet printing, it promotes eco-friendly design while reducing reliance on disposable batteries and supporting sustainability goals.

Minister James Lawless said: “The 22 projects announced today under Research Ireland’s Frontiers for the Future Programme are ambitious in both scope and scale, spanning areas from pioneering cancer therapies to advancing a more sustainable and circular economy, and much more besides.

"The breadth of research being funded reflects the exceptional depth and diversity of talent across our research and innovation ecosystem. I congratulate all the awardees and wish them every success as they push the boundaries of knowledge and deliver meaningful innovation.” 

Frontiers for the Future is a legacy programme inherited from Science Foundation Ireland, and has played an important role in supporting ambitious, curiosity-driven scientific research with the potential to deliver transformative societal and economic impact.

As a new agency, Research Ireland is reimagining and redeveloping the legacy programmes inherited from both SFI and the Irish Research Council to reflect its broadened remit and the full diversity of disciplines now supported, as set out in our recently published Programme Plan. 

Research initiatives funded under the Frontiers for the Future programme enable independent investigators to pursue bold ideas and innovative research over a four- to five-year period.