Have you already received an ERC grant for your frontier research project and now want to explore the commercial or societal potential of your work? The 2026 ERC Proof of Concept Grant call has been published on Funding & Tenders Portal and is open for submissions.
All Principal Investigators in one of the ERC frontier research main grants (Starting, Consolidator, Advanced or Synergy) are eligible to participate and apply for an ERC Proof of Concept Grant. Principal Investigators in an ongoing main grant, or Principal Investigators in a main grant that has ended after 1 January 2025, are eligible to apply.
The total indicative budget for the present call is € 60 000 000. The financial contribution will be awarded as a lump sum of € 150 000 for a period of 18 months. Extensions of the duration of Proof of concept projects may be granted only exceptionally. The estimated number of grants to be awarded is 400.
The call cut-off deadlines for submissions are 17 March 2026 and 17 September 2026.
More information: Funding & Tenders Portal
Source: European Research Council (ERC) https://erc.europa.eu/apply-grant/proof-concept