18 Jan 2024
ERC announces 102 new Proof of Concept grants
On 18 January 2024, the European Research Council announced the results of its third round of the Proof of Concept scheme. 102 new grants will bring the total number of researchers receiving such funding to 240 in last year’s three competition rounds. 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. In this competition, a total of €36 million in top-up innovation funding has been awarded.
The ERC’s 2023 Work Programme included three rounds of the Proof of Concept call. In total, 564 proposals were evaluated, and 240 projects were selected with a success rate of 43%. The new grantees work in 20 different countries across Europe. The highest number of grants will be hosted in Germany (40), followed by Spain (30), the UK (26), Italy (25), France (22), the Netherlands (20), Israel (18), Belgium (15), Denmark (9), Austria (8), Sweden (8), Ireland (4), Portugal (4), Norway (3). Additionally, Czechia and Finland will host two grants each, and Luxemburg, Hungary, Poland, and Greece one grant each.