TU Dublin Partners in First Innovate for Ireland National Centre ‘Decarb-AI’
TU Dublin has joined a landmark national research initiative, Decarb-AI, a new Innovate for Ireland National Centre designed to bring together leading researchers to accelerate Ireland’s transition to a low-carbon, climate resilient future.
Decarb-AI; ‘AI-Powered Pathways to Climate Resilience’ represents Ireland’s first Innovate for Ireland National Centre. Established in partnership with AIB and Research Ireland, the €5.7 million initiative will harness the power of artificial intelligence to address critical climate challenges. The centre is led by Principal Investigator Professor Andrew Parnell from the UCD School of Mathematics and Statistics.
TU Dublin’s involvement is led by Vice President for Research and Innovation, Dr Dympna O’Sullivan, who commented:
TU Dublin is delighted to partner on the Decarb-AI initiative. AI provides new opportunities to navigate and understand the trade-offs that define climate action, linking complex data, policy and real-world impact. With Decarb-AI, we are building a pipeline of talent and research that moves beyond theory into deployable solutions, bridging academia and industry.
The centre will recruit 30 iScholars over three intakes, with the first eight already underway. Representing a diverse global cohort from China, Ghana, India, the UK, France, Ireland and Kenya, these researchers are undertaking fully funded, four-year PhDs.
Two iScholars have already commenced their research at TU Dublin. Purity Biwott, supervised by Dr Emma Murphy, is exploring the interpretability of AI-driven climate models for non-expert decision-makers. Meanwhile, Raja Prabha Poolpandy, supervised by Dr Ciara Ahern, is analysing low-energy commercial buildings, the risks they pose to financial institutions, and how green finance can accelerate their decarbonisation.
Research at Decarb-AI will focus on applying cutting-edge AI technologies to climate mitigation and adaptation challenges across Ireland. Key areas include:
- AI-optimised renewable energy systems and datacentre sustainability
- Machine learning for water quality forecasting and peatland restoration
- Earth observation and biodiversity modelling for land-use policy
- AI-supported sustainable finance tools for SMEs
- Transparent AI decision-support systems for real-time decarbonisation planning
The programme is delivered through a collaborative network of leading Irish institutions including University College Dublin (lead institution), Trinity College Dublin, Dublin City University, Technological University Dublin, University of Limerick, University of Galway via the Irish Centre for High-End Computing, and University College Cork.
Recruitment is now underway for the second cohort of iScholars. Applications are invited from ambitious candidates with backgrounds in AI, data science, engineering, environmental science, ecology, geography, finance, and related disciplines, who are eager to develop high-impact AI solutions for climate resilience.