Welcome to CleanerGrid
CleanerGrid is EirGrid’s annual competition that challenges third-level students across Ireland to develop innovative solutions that take climate action. Participants from any academic background, working individually or in teams, respond to a real-world scenario concerning Ireland’s energy transition, with the chance to win cash prizes for themselves and their colleges.
CleanerGrid 2026
Opportunities and Challenges in Accelerating Offshore Wind Potential
This year’s CleanerGrid competition asks third-level students to respond to the prompt: “Opportunities and Challenges in Accelerating Offshore Wind Potential”.
Developing the offshore electricity grid is key to harnessing Ireland’s offshore wind energy potential and providing greater security of electricity supply from a clean renewable source. EirGrid’s role is to build, own, operate and maintain the essential grid infrastructure necessary to bring power generated by offshore windfarms into Ireland’s national grid onshore.
Your challenge is to propose innovative, practical solutions that address both the opportunities and the obstacles ahead.
Whether working individually, in discipline-specific, or interdisciplinary teams - participants should familiarise themselves with:
- Relevant EU policies and regulations.
- EirGrid’s existing ongoing and planned offshore projects.
Submissions should build on existing research, but focus on fresh innovations and actionable proposals rather than produce literature reviews.
Participants may address the prompt by choosing to innovate on topics most closely related to their discipline(s) or interests.
Sponsorship of the project by a member of academic staff is a requirement and their participation must be indicated when submitting the application.
Key Dates
Applications open: Tuesday 7 October 2025
Application deadline: Wednesday 19 November 2025 at 23:59
Final submission deadline: Friday 21 February 2026 at 23:59
After an internal review, shortlisted finalists will be invited to present their projects live at the CleanerGrid Finale & Awards Ceremony in EirGrid’s offices at the end of March 2026.
Prizes
1st place: €6,000 for the individual or team plus €6,000 for their third-level institute
2nd place: €3,000 for the individual or team plus €3,000 for their third-level institute
3rd place: €1,500 for the individual or team plus €1,500 for their third-level institute
What’s in it for students?
- Real-World Challenge: Tackle a prompt related to Ireland’s clean energy transition.
- Long Project Timeline: With several months to develop your ideas, you can balance academic commitments while diving deep into energy innovation.
- National Recognition: Finalists present their projects at a live event judged by experts from academia, media, and industry.
- Build Your network: Engage with professionals, academics, and peers.
- Boost Your CV: Showcase your innovation and presentation skills.
“The competition pushes you to really engage with the energy system - something students maybe wouldn’t otherwise do.”
— Todhchaí Glas Team, 1st Place Winners 2024-25
Last Year's Winners
Last year’s prompt challenged students to present their vision of what the growing energy sector will need to look like in 2050 to have sustainably achieved net-zero emissions.
First Place - Todhchaí Glas
Ruairí Collins, Eoin Duffy, Stephen Murphy, three Mechanical Engineering with Business Master's students from University College Dublin. Their project focused on hydro pumped storage. Supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Paula Carroll.
Award: €6,000 to University College Dublin + €6,000 shared among the team.
Second Place - EcoShift Engineers
Ruchit Ghandi, Sarah Jane Hughes, Ethan O’Brien, three 2nd-year Electronic and Computer Engineering students from University of Galway. Their project focused on a peer-to-peer energy trading app. Supervisor: Prof. Martin Glavin.
Award: €3,000 to University of Galway + €3,000 shared among the team.
Third Place - The Transmission's Transition
Jarlaith Brady, a final-year Mechanical and Sustainability Engineering student from Dublin City University. This project presented a strategic plan for new transmission lines with short-, medium-, and long-term goals. Supervisor: Dr. Greg McNamara.
Award: €1,000 Dublin City University + €1,000 to the student.