Research & Innovation

Valeria Nicolosi, researcher at the SFI-funded AMBER materials science research centre at Trinity College Dublin, has been awarded a €2.5m ERC Consolidator Grant to create an innovative new type of energy storage device that can charge in just a few minutes, last longer than today’s batteries.

The “ERC consolidator grant” is one of the most sought-after competitive research grants in Europe, and will provide Prof Nicolosi with €2.5m in funding over five years for her project “3D2DPrint”.

The project focuses on creating a new type of extremely long-lasting battery, one that can come in any shape or size and can be camouflaged within any type of material, whether that’s clothing, a mobile phone, a car dashboard or even implanted inside a body (for example, for an implanted cardiac device).

This funding will enable her to establish a multidisciplinary research group to develop this unique class of energy storage devices, employing six researchers (three senior postdoctorates and three PhD candidates). Prof Nicolosi is Ireland’s only four-time ERC awardee, and has been awarded more than €11 million in funding for her research in the past five years at TCD :

“Since 2011, the first year of my ERC Starting Grant, my group has grown from three to 25 people”, Nicolosi said. Then she added :

“The ERC grants I have been awarded were not only important in helping fund our research and grow our team, but to also help leverage more funding and realise partnerships with large multinationals. What is key is that these grants allow us to take the next step with our research, whether it is the licensing of technology or starting up a new company.”