Technology Insights – Energy Optimisation and Innovation for Business
‘Technology Insights’ brings together a range of relevant and exciting industry topics highlighting current, new and emerging technologies in sectors such as MedTech, Software, Biotechnology, Food and Manufacturing. The series aims to provide Irish industry with a platform for interesting and engaging discussion on a wide range of current and future technologies, presented by industry experts within the Technology Gateway Network.
The fifth webinar in the series takes place on Thursday 24th June 2021 and will focus on ‘Energy Optimisation and Innovation for Business’. Presented by Dr. Paul MacArtain and Dr. Fergal O’Rourke from CREDIT Technology Gateway at Dundalk Institute of Technology.
The drive to decarbonise business will see the halving of emissions each decade to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. Better environmental performance leads to improved resource efficiency and direct cost savings and can also increase access to customers who are increasingly demanding more environmentally friendly products and services. Better environmental performance will also increase the agility and resilience of the company to climate change impacts. The steps through energy efficiency, renewable energy, corporate sustainability and circular economies are linked and businesses can identify opportunities to address each of these areas.
The CREDIT gateway specialises in the technical feasibility, development and testing of energy technologies aimed at addressing these drivers. Dr. Paul MacArtain will outline how energy storage can assist with decarbonisation and efficiency and Dr. Fergal O’Rourke will describe some examples of energy product developments developed at DKIT which SMEs have commercialised.
Presenters
Fergal O’Rourke, BE (Hons), PhD
Dr Fergal O’Rourke holds a BE (Hons) in Mechanical Engineering and a PhD (Mechanical Engineering) in design optimisation and evaluation of energy systems and technologies, with a particular focus on hydrodynamic performance prediction of tidal current turbines operating in unsteady fluid flow conditions. Fergal’s primary field of research is fluid mechanics, particularly the development of numerical and analytical algorithms for external flow aerodynamic and hydrodynamic calculations for rotodynamic machines. Dr O’Rourke is PI on a number of research projects and the principal supervisor of five PhD students all in the energy domain. Fergal is the programme director for the MSc in Renewable Energy Systems programme delivered at Dundalk Institute of Technology and delivers the wind energy modules and supervises projects on this programme. Fergal also lectures fluid mechanics modules on the BEng (Hons) and BEng in Mechanical Engineering programmes in the School of Engineering. In his capacity as a lecturer at Dundalk Institute of Technology, he has collaborated with industrial partners on numerous energy and renewable energy projects over the past decade.
Paul MacArtain, Ph.D.
Dr Paul MacArtain holds a Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from NUI Dublin and has worked in industry and at the Centre for Renewables and Energy at DKIT as Senior Research Fellow. He was Director of the Centre from 2017 to 2021 and is co-PI with Dr. O’Rourke on the Enterprise Ireland CREDIT Technology Gateway. He is DKIT PI on the INTERREG VA SPIRE2 project led by Ulster University with specific focus on distributed energy storage and is supervising one Ph.D. student in this project in collaboration with Dunleer Sustainable Energy Community. Dr MacArtain is also PI on the SEAI RD&D Dundalk Virtual Energy Microgrid Project in partnership with Energy Trading Ireland and DKIT PI on the INTERREG VA FASTER project on rapid EV charger rollout in the Cross Border region. He has completed more than 10 EI Innovation Vouchers with industry and 2 InterTrade Ireland Fusion projects as well as contract research in energy topics.
CREDIT Technology Gateway
The Centre for Renewables and Energy Technology Gateway at Dundalk IT (CREDIT), is focused on energy efficiency and optimisation as well as Energy Storage and Supply Optimisation. The Gateway has expertise in solar, wind and ocean energy and will assist companies to make both their products and their manufacturing operations as energy efficient as possible.
The CREDIT Gateway provides a place for industry and experts to work together with a particular focus on helping start-ups and SMEs explore product innovation, source applied research opportunities and leverage tech solutions for their needs.
Over the past number of years there has been a growing demand from industry for detailed Energy Performance Measurement of products, prototypes and process innovations. The CREDIT Gateway delivers these assessments as a mechanism to help companies to optimise and decarbonise their energy and other Green House Gas emissions.
Date: Thursday 24th June 2021
Time: 11.00am – 11.45am
For further details and registration please see here
