Portugal attracts another project funded by the European Research Council

The European Research Council (ERC) has announced the research projects selected in Call ERC Proof of Concept 2024 Call , aimed at projects previously selected by the ERC that seek to explore commercial and societal potential beyond fundamental research.

Filipe Natálio, from Universidade Nova de Lisboa, will receive €150,000 in funding for the BIODENIM project,“Bio-Engineered Dyeing Innovations for Sustainable Cotton Textiles,” dedicatedto developing sustainable solutions for dyeing cotton fibers. The researcher returned to Portugal in September 2024, bringing with him the BIOMATFAB project , “Biological fabrication of cotton fibers with tailored properties, ” also funded by the European Research Council (ERC) under the Consolidator Grant category, worth €2 million.

The ERC's work plan for 2024 included two rounds of Call Proof of Concept Call . In the first round ( the results of which were announced in July 2024), Cláudia Nunes dos Santos, from NOVA Medical School/Universidade Nova de Lisboa, was also one of the researchers to benefit from this funding for her project NEUROSHIELD – Novel small molecule attenuator of neuroinflammation in Parkinson’s Disease, a project dedicated to developing a new therapy to combat neuroinflammation in Parkinson’s disease.

In this second round, 134 proposals were selected for funding, covering a universe of researchers conducting their scientific activity in 20 countries, notably Germany, Italy, the Netherlands (15 each), Spain and the United Kingdom (14 each), Israel (12), Belgium (11), and France (10). Researchers conducting their research in Widening countries had six projects, one in each country, including Portugal. See the list of all winners.

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 half of the current Horizon Europe framework program, Portugal has already reached the milestone of 16 ERC Proof of Concept projects.

The FCT coordinates national representation and participation in the European Research Council and, as announced at the 1st ERC Portugal Meeting, has been developing a set of programs covering the various cycles of national participation in Calls . Of particular note are ERC-PT , ERC-PT , and ERC-PT .

2024 marks the 40th anniversary of the European Union Framework Program, the largest instrument for promoting European research, development, and innovation, and a beacon for international scientific cooperation.