Triumph for Breifne College student
Third year student Lewis Mohan from Breffni College in Cavan has taken home the prestigious EirGrid Cleaner Climate Award following his success at the SciFest@College 2025 regional competition at Dundalk IT.
Students from schools across Cavan and neighbouring counties such as Louth, Monaghan, Meath and Westmeath came together with their peers and teachers to compete in the STEM fair exhibiting projects covering a broad range of topics and disciplines from health and physics to renewable energy and AI.
Lewis impressed judges with his project ‘pHishy Waters: How acidic gases are changing our seas’, which focused on the impact that atmospheric gases such as carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide have on the acidification of marine life.
The winning submission was chosen from over 150 projects on show at the college campus event.
SciFest@College is a programme of STEM fairs for second-level students, taking place in 16 regional colleges across Ireland. For two decades SciFest has been a platform for second-level students to showcase their creativity, innovation and research skills in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
As a partner in SciFest, EirGrid, the operator and developer of Ireland electricity system, delivers the Cleaner Climate Award as recognition of the critical role young people play in shaping a sustainable future.
The prize is awarded to the student or team whose project demonstrates both technical excellence and a tangible positive impact to energy and environmental sustainability.
Congratulating the winning entrants on their successful project, Catherine Daly, Sustainability Programme Manager at EirGrid, said: “For twenty years SciFest has been at the heart of inspiring innovation from secondary level students, and we are incredibly proud to continue to support this endeavour. As we work to ensure eighty percent of Ireland’s electricity comes from renewable sources, as per Government targets, we recognise the importance of fostering a future generation of problem solvers and critical thinkers, to transition to a clean, renewable energy grid.
“EirGrid is playing a central role in achieving Ireland’s climate ambitions and the level of engagement from students at Dundalk IT today showed the interest surrounding the environment and renewable energy. Congratulations to Lewis on his award.”
Lewis will now progress to the SciFest national final in November, for a chance to represent Ireland at the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair in May 2026 in Phoenix, Arizona.