ERC announces 66 new Studentships of Concept Studentships

The European Research Council (ERC) announced this week the research projects selected in Call Proof of Concept Grants, Studentships at projects previously funded by the ERC that seek to explore commercial and social potential beyond fundamental research.

Researcher Ana Rita Duarte (NOVA/REQUIMTE) will receive €150,000 in funding to develop the ImproVITA project, “Improve the shelf life of perishable goods through stabilisation of vitamins.” This is her second ERC Proof of Concept associated with the ERC Consolidator Grant project that began in 2017, "When solids become liquids: natural deep eutectic solvents for chemical process engineering."

Of the 183 proposals evaluated, 66 were selected for funding, covering a universe of researchers conducting their scientific activity in 14 countries: Spain (12), Germany (9), United Kingdom (8), Italy (7), France (6), Belgium (5), Netherlands (5), Ireland (3), Israel (3), Denmark (3), and Sweden (2). The countries with one funded project were the Czech Republic, Austria, and Portugal.

During the previous European funding framework program for research and innovation, H2020 (2014-2020), 15 projects were funded in Portugal under the ERC Proof of Concept program. In the first three years of the current Horizon Europe framework program, Portugal has already reached the milestone of 11 ERC Proof of Concept projects. Overall, Portugal has already exceeded €70 million raised in Calls since the start of Horizon Europe (2021-2027), the European framework program for research and innovation funding.

Photo credits: FCT NOVA