The European Research Council (ERC) has awarded a total of 182 proof of concept grants to researchers from 21 countries. With 27 grants, the Netherlands ranks second. Only Germany secured more funding, with 31 grants.

Most of the Dutch grants went to TU Delft (five), followed by TU/e and Utrecht University, with three awards each. One of the Eindhoven grants was awarded to the project LOCAL-CAR, which aims to improve the treatment of peritoneal cancer.

LOCAL-CAR is led by Willem Mulder (right in the photo), full professor of Precision Medicine, who also secured an ERC grant last week: an Advanced Grant worth up to 2.5 million euros.

The other two proof of concept grants were awarded to the project PhaseUP, led by Antoni Forner-Cuenca (left in the photo), full professor of Electrochemical Materials and Systems, and to the project FlowFacade, led by Bas Overvelde (center), full professor of Autonomous Matter & Machines.

Potential

The recipients had previously been awarded an ERC research grant and may now use this funding to explore the commercial or societal potential of their research.

Just over half (54 percent) work in the fields of physical sciences and engineering, 37 percent focus on the life sciences, and 8 percent conduct research in the social sciences and humanities.

Two rounds

This was the first of two funding rounds in 2026. A total of 554 proposals were submitted.

Despite the increase in the number of applications, the success rate has barely declined. This is due to the growing budget: the ERC has made 60 million euros available for the two rounds this year. In 2025, the total was 45 million euros, compared with nearly 37 million euros in 2024.