30 Jun 2026
182 researchers selected to receive ERC Proof of Concept grants
The European Research Council (ERC) has published the results of the first round of Proof of Concept Grants. 182 researchers will receive a total of €27.3 million in funding. Each grantee will receive €150,000. The newly awarded projects cover a diverse range of topics, from physical sciences and engineering (62% of the total), life sciences (28%) and social sciences and humanities (9%).
Among the projects selected for funding figure developing 3D-printed bio-inspired electronics made from soft materials; the creation of a patient-friendly tool to map language areas in the brain and improve epilepsy surgery; and an innovative breast cancer vaccine targeting tumour markers shared by many patients. These and many other projects will demonstrate how frontier research can be translated into tangible solutions for global challenges.
The grantees will conduct their work in universities and research centres in 21 EU Member States and associated countries, notably Germany (31 grants), the Netherlands (27), and Italy and France (18 each). 7 grants will go to researchers located in Austria.
The scheme is exclusively open to researchers who currently hold, or have previously been awarded, an ERC frontier research grant. As a top-up funding, these grants will help researchers explore how findings generated through their ERC projects can be developed into real-world innovations, bridging the gap between pioneering research and practical applications.
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