Jobs boost as Mayo's eco-Mova awarded €648,000 energy research funding

GOVERNMENT funding of €648,000 has been announced for an environmentally-friendly industrial research project in Mayo, which plans to create 55 new jobs.

eco-Mova, based near Westport, has been awarded the funding through the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) as part of a wider €19.8 million programme supporting 49 new projects, enabling a wide range of energy research within Ireland. The projects bring together academic institutes, industry partners and not-for-profits to tackle key areas in our national efforts to transition to a low carbon society.

The funding will support eco-Mova’s development of environmentally friendly road trailers for electric cars and vans.

The project will see eco-Mova work with Professor Alojz Ivankovic, Dr. Neal Murphy and Dr. Malachy O’Rourke, from the School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, University College Dublin (UCD), and the SFI-funded I-Form, the Research Centre for Advanced Manufacturing. The combined team will embrace eco-Mova’s existing research and extend it with world class science to exploit new structural composites and energy systems that will substantially lower carbon emissions from vehicles that tow trailers.

eco-Mova plans to start production of their initial products from 2023, and expand its portfolio during the following four years, during which they plan can create up to 55 jobs in Co. Mayo.

Said eco-Mova’s founder, Rory Staunton: “We are delighted to lead a three-year industrial research programme with SEAI and I-Form. Commercial and recreational buyers of trailers need to lower emissions when they move large goods on the road.

“Most electric vehicles today have range limitations and cannot tow trailers. eco-Mova can fix that. We aim to speed up the practical adoption of electric vehicles for moving larger loads with zero emissions, without increasing costs.”

Professor Alojz Ivankovic of I-Form added: ‘”This award shows how innovation from the west of Ireland can be advanced with expertise from UCD and I-Form in composites, adhesives, numerical modelling and energy systems, to address Ireland’s challenge to reduce vehicle emissions. The collaboration with eco-Mova will include undergraduate, postgraduate and post-doctoral researchers based in both Dublin and Mayo.”

Mike Feeney, a business advisor based in Dublin, supporting eco-Mova, added: “This award will enable eco-Mova and leading academics to accelerate its industrial research, to develop its range of environmentally friendly products quicker, attract further investment to expand the business internationally, and recruit high quality environmental engineering staff in Mayo.”

Joe Casey, chief operations officer at eco-Mova in Westport, said: “Our priority is to create synergy by combining our market research, operational experience and precision engineering in Co. Mayo with the extensive expertise at UCD.

“We plan to recruit the best people, expand our premises, turn prototypes into production, and establish local supply chains around Mayo and across Ireland, rather than importing materials and components.”

The 2021 SEAI National Energy Research, Development & Demonstration (RDD) Call also involves co-funding partnerships with the Department of Transport and Geological Survey Ireland. There was a significant increase in national demand for energy research funding in 2021 with 56% more applications compared to the most recent call in 2019, proving it an extremely competitive Call.