Catherine ZaharievaEuropean Commissioner for Startups, Research and Innovation, said:
“Europe’s global position depends on our ability to champion scientific excellence and build a thriving community of researchers, innovators and industry leaders. ERC Proof of Concept grants play an important role in these efforts. They enable promising research results to be transformed into tangible innovations that drive industrial progress and benefit society. Congratulations to all the winners!’
President of the European Research Council, Prof. Maria Leptin said:
“These proof-of-concept grants will help more ERC grant recipients commercialize their research results.” This is helpful support on their journey to commercialization and scaling. It highlights something that is often forgotten or misunderstood: fundamental science is the foundation of much of the innovation we benefit from today. Therefore, with increased global competition, it is imperative for Europe to up its game and increase its investment in curiosity-driven cutting-edge research to strengthen our competitiveness.
The ERC 2024 work program included two proof-of-concept (PoC) call rounds. In total, over the two cycles, 698 proposals were evaluated and 245 projects were selected for funding.
THE winners of the first round of the PoC 2024 competitionannounced in July 2024, included the 2000th project to benefit from such a grant. Other projects will, for example, aim to combat food fraud, reuse existing drugs to fight cancer and better visualize blood microcirculation, in order to improve the treatment of many potentially fatal conditions. Learn more.
List of the 134 winners of this second PoC 2024 round.
The 134 new beneficiaries of this second cycle work in 20 different countries across Europe. The largest number of grants will be hosted in Germany, Italy and the Netherlands (15 each), followed by Spain and the United Kingdom (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 program, researchers must have already received an ERC exploratory research grant. PoC funding is used to expand on discoveries they have made during previous or ongoing research projects. The main objective is to explore the commercial and social innovation potential of ERC-funded research. As with other ERC grants, the funding supports research projects across scientific disciplines, from physical sciences and engineering to life sciences, and from social sciences to humanities.
About the CER
The ERC, created by the European Union in 2007, is the leading European organization for funding excellent exploratory research. It funds creative researchers of all nationalities and ages to carry out projects based across Europe. The ERC offers four basic grant programs: Start-up grants, Consolidation Grants, Advanced Grants And Synergy Grants. With its supplement Proof of concept A grant program, the ERC helps grantees bridge the gap between their pioneering research and the early phases of its commercialization. The ERC is governed by an independent governing body, the Scientific Council. Since November 2021, Maria Leptin has been the president of the ERC. The overall budget of the CER from 2021 to 2027 amounts to more than 16 billion euros, as part of the Horizon Europe program, under the responsibility of the European Commissioner for Startups, Research and Innovation, Ekaterina Zaharieva.