European Research Council: 12 French winners, including two alumni, for Proof of Concept grants
On July 14, the European Research Council announced the first group of researchers to be awarded Proof of Concept grants in 2025. In this first wave of the competition, 150 projects were selected, with 12 French winners, including two international alumni. The winners will receive a 150,000 euro grant to help them develop their research and innovation potential.
The Proof of Concept grant program, part ofHorizon Europe, the European research and innovation program, aims to help scientists "bridge the gap between their pioneering research results and the early stages of their commercialization or societal application", as explained on the ERC website. Created by the European Union in 2007, the ERC is Europe's leading funding body for "excellent frontier research". It funds "creative researchers of all nationalities and ages" to carry out projects across Europe.
Researchers of some thirty nationalities
"More than 20 million euros to turn cutting-edge science into practical solutions". This is how the European Research Council presents the work of the new beneficiaries, which will cover "a wide range of subjects". All these topics will be addressed by researchers who have already been awarded an exploratory research grant (ERC Starting, Consolidator, Advanced or Synergy grants obtained less than a year previously).
These experienced researchers, adds the ERC, are based in universities and research centers in 21 EU member states (and associated countries), including France, Germany, Spain, the UK and the Netherlands. The winners include 29 German researchers, 20 Spaniards and 17 Italians, as well as researchers of 29 other nationalities.
A total of 480 proposals were examined and, in this first round, over 30% were selected for funding. A second wave of projects will be rewarded in 2025, with a total budget of 45 million euros. The call for applications is open until September 18.
Alumni among the winners
Of the twelve winners in France, six are hosted by CNRS, two by Inserm, one by Institut Pasteur, one by Armines (France's leading business-oriented research organization backed by 48 research centers), one by Unesco and one by Université Claude Bernard - Lyon 1.
These include no less than two alumni. These include :
- Valentina Emiliani, research director at the CNRS, selected for her project " Two-photon miniaturized integrated neuro-optical photon system for neuronal circuits investigation in freely moving primates ", who studied in Rome, followed by post-doctoral studies in France at the Jacques-Monod Institute;
- Hugo Bisio Sabaris, CNRS researcher, for his project " AI-driven discovery broad-spectrum antivirals targeting Nucleocytoviricota factories via phase separation modulation ", who studied in Uruguay, followed by post-doctoral studies at the Laboratoire Information Génomique et Structurale, a CNRS - Aix Marseille Université joint research unit.
Impressive innovation results
A report quoted by the ERC reveals how the Proof of Concept grants "transform cutting-edge research into concrete solutions". With just 1% of the ERC's total budget (€259 million between 2014 and 2023), some 1,700 Proof of Concept projects have produced "impressive results" in terms of innovation, commercialization and cross-sector impact.
According to the report, recipients of this type of grant are "five times more likely to file patents than those receiving an ERC main grant alone". Many have gone on to launch start-ups, actively collaborate with SMEs or obtain additional follow-up funding. Among the research topics selected this year, for example, the ERC reports the use of AI to better predict conflict risks, the reduction of the environmental footprint of paracetamol production, the development of a tool to detect distortions in electricity markets, the creation of a portable device to capture and detect PFAS (eternal chemical pollutants) in water...
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