The ACORN Research Group in the Limerick Institute of Technology, led by John Cosgrove, has been awarded €1.25m for Applied Research in Energy Efficiency in Industry. The project, entitled Total Energy Management for Production Operations (TEMPO) was approved through the EI Industry–led Research Programme and is a collaboration between the Limerick Institute of Technology (LIT), the University of Ulster (UU), the International Energy Research Centre (IERC) and the National Energy Competence Centre (I2E2). The project will be jointly funded by Enterprise Ireland (EI), IDA Ireland, Science Foundation Ireland and the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) supported by the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation and the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources.
According to the LIT Head of Research & Technology Transfer, Dr Siobhan Moane, “TEMPO will provide an excellent opportunity for the team in LIT to work with leading international research performers such as Professor Martin McGinnity of the Intelligent Systems Research Centre (UU – Magee) and Professor Neil Hewitt of the Centre for Sustainable Technologies (UU – Jordanstown) and with leading multinationals committed to sustainable manufacturing practice”.
The International Energy Research Centre (IERC) is driving research projects in integrated energy solutions through discussions with a group of global companies, collaborating together in Ireland. These companies include General Motors, United Technologies, Bell Labs, HSG Zander and IBM together with Irish Utility Companies Bord Gais Energy and Bord Gais Networks.
The TEMPO Project will work closely with the General Motors Manufacturing Systems Research Laboratory in the USA.
John Cosgrove describes the TEMPO research goal as; “the development of new energy efficiency strategies, monitoring systems, data analysis and visualisation tools to address sustainable energy management in the manufacturing sector.” TEMPO will work with I2E2 Companies such as DePuy Ireland, Intel, Boston Scientific, Pfizer and others to assess and monitor their energy usage and to pilot new energy monitoring solutions on their industrial sites to reduce costs and green-house gas emissions. The TEMPO project will run for 3 years and will be based in the LIT Hartnett Enterprise Acceleration Centre.
According to the LIT Head of Research & Technology Transfer, Dr Siobhan Moane, “TEMPO will provide an excellent opportunity for the team in LIT to work with leading international research performers such as Professor Martin McGinnity of the Intelligent Systems Research Centre (UU – Magee) and Professor Neil Hewitt of the Centre for Sustainable Technologies (UU – Jordanstown) and with leading multinationals committed to sustainable manufacturing practice”.
The Applied Control for Distributed Renewable Energy Systems (ACORN) Research Group in LIT includes staff from Engineering, Science and IT and has been successful in research awards and industry funded research since 2004. The group includes 12 academics and 14 researchers. The key themes of the ACORN Research Group include Renewable Energy Technologies, Sustainable Manufacturing, Smart Grids and Environmental Management.
Contact: John Cosgrove, Director – ACORN Research Group, Limerick Institute of Technology. john.cosgrove@lit.ie +353 (0)61 293000