134 researchers supported to turn their science into practice
23 January 2025
In the final round of the 2024 European Research Council (ERC) Proof of Concept grant competition, 134 projects will receive support, bringing the total number of grants awarded under the 2024 work programme to 245 worth €36.75 million. Each grant is worth €150,000 and helps ERC grantees to bridge the gap between the results of their pioneering research and the early phases of its commercialisation. The grant scheme is part of the EU’s research and innovation programme, Horizon Europe.
134 researchers supported to turn their science into practice

Ekaterina Zaharieva, European Commissioner for Startups, Research and Innovation, said: 

'Europe's global standing depends on us championing scientific excellence and building a thriving community of researchers, innovators, and industry leaders. The ERC’s Proof of Concept grants play an important role in these efforts. They enable promising research results to evolve into tangible innovations that drive industrial progress and benefit society. Congratulations to all the grant winners!'  

President of the European Research Council, Prof. Maria Leptin , said:

'These Proof of Concept grants will help more ERC grantees to move their research results towards the market. This is useful support on their path towards commercialisation and scale-up. It shines a light on something that is often forgotten or not fully understood - basic science is the fundament for much of the innovations we benefit from today. Therefore, with increased global competition, it’s imperative for Europe to up its game and raise investment in curiosity-driven top research to boost our competitiveness.'

The ERC’s 2024 work programme included two rounds of the Proof of Concept (PoC) call. In total, over the two rounds, 698 proposals were evaluated, and 245 projects were selected for funding.

The winners of the first round of the 2024 PoC competition, announced in July 2024, included the 2000th project to receive such a grant. Other projects will for example combat food fraud, repurpose existing medicines to fight cancer, and better visualise blood microcirculation, to improve the treatment of many life-threatening conditions. Read more.

List of 134 winners in this second 2024 PoC round.

The 134 new grantees of this second round work in 20 different countries across Europe . The highest number of grants will be hosted in Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands (15 each), followed by Spain and the UK (14 each), Israel (12), Belgium (11), France (10), Denmark (6), Austria (5), Sweden (4), Ireland (3), Finland and Norway (2), Croatia, Czechia, Cyprus, Poland, Portugal, Turkey (1 each).


To be eligible for the Proof of Concept grant scheme, researchers need to already have been awarded an ERC frontier research grant. The PoC funding is used to develop findings they have made during former or current research projects. The main goal is to explore the commercial and social innovation potential of ERC-funded research. As with other ERC grants, the funding supports research projects in all scientific disciplines, from physical science and engineering to life sciences, and social sciences to humanities.

About the ERC

The ERC, set up by the European Union in 2007, is the premier European funding organisation for excellent frontier research. It funds creative researchers of any nationality and age, to run projects based across Europe. The ERC offers four core grant schemes: Starting GrantsConsolidator GrantsAdvanced Grants and Synergy Grants. With its additional Proof of Concept Grant scheme, the ERC helps grantees to bridge the gap between their pioneering research and early phases of its commercialisation. The ERC is led by an independent governing body, the Scientific Council. Since November 2021, Maria Leptin is the President of the ERC. The overall ERC budget from 2021 to 2027 is more than €16 billion, as part of the Horizon Europe  programme, under the responsibility of European Commissioner for Startups, Research and Innovation, Ekaterina Zaharieva.
 

 

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