ERC gives consolidator grants worth €657 million to excellent researchers

 A total of 321 researchers have won the 2022 European Research Council (ERC) Consolidator Grants. The funding, worth €657 million, is part of the EU’s Horizon Europe programme. It will help excellent scientists, who have 7 to 12 years’ experience after their PhDs, to pursue their most promising ideas.

The grants will be invested in scientific projects spanning all disciplines of research, from engineering to life sciences and even humanities. For example, a neurologist in Denmark will look for a personalised treatment for chronic pain; a researcher in France will explore fibrous materials as a green alternative to fossil-based plastics; and a bioarcheologist in Lithuania will study what influenced the adoption and abandonment of crops over time, to improve present-day food security, biodiversity, and adaptation to climate change.

The laureates of this grant competition proposed to carry out their projects at universities and research centres in 18 EU member states, plus other countries associated with Horizon Europe. Among the EU countries, the highest number of grants will be located in Germany (62 projects), France (41) and Spain (24).

Nationals of 37 countries are among the winners of this call, notably Germans (52 researchers), Italians (32), French (31) and British (31). This call attracted 2,222 applicants, while the proposals were reviewed by panels of renowned researchers from across the world. The grants will create around 1,950 jobs for postdoctoral fellows, PhD students, and other staff at the host institutions.

Prof Maria Leptin, president, ERC, said, “ERC Consolidator grants support researchers at a crucial time of their careers, strengthening their independence, reinforcing their teams, and helping them establish themselves as leaders in their fields. Above all, this backing gives them a chance to pursue their scientific dreams.”

The statistics and final list of successful candidates are provisional. The Trade and Cooperation Agreement between the European Union (EU) and the United Kingdom (UK) allows for associating the UK to the current EU research and innovation funding programme, Horizon Europe, subject to the adoption of a Protocol. As this Protocol has not been adopted so far, the UK is still considered ‘non-associated’ to Horizon Europe. Therefore, the successful proposals of applicants based in a country in the process of associating to Horizon Europe will be eligible for funding only if the relevant Horizon Europe association agreement applies by the time of the signature of the grant agreement. However, successful applicants from UK host institutions can still be funded, provided they move to a host institution in an eligible country