Thirty-seven research groups will receive €395 million in total to address some of the world’s most formidable research problems spanning a range of scientific disciplines. The funding helps groups of outstanding researchers to pool different skills, knowledge and resources to push the frontiers of our knowledge. The ERC Synergy Grant scheme is part of the EU's research and innovation programme, Horizon Europe.

Iliana Ivanova, Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, said:

Some scientific questions are too complex to be addressed by researchers working on their own. Challenges such as climate change or ageing span research disciplines and call for diverse methods, skills and resources. This is why the European Research Council awarded today 37 Synergy Grants, empowering small groups of top researchers working across disciplines to tackle serious problems. I wish them success in this important work.

ERC President Professor Maria Leptin said:

Congratulations to all the winners! The selected projects are shining examples of audacious scientific thinking, and I eagerly await the outcomes of these collaborative endeavours. I am also happy to see some European researchers teaming up with peers across several continents. Together, they are well-equipped to tackle the substantial scientific questions that our world is yearning to find answers to.

Applicants submitted 395 proposals in this call. The 37 winning projects involve 135 researchers who will carry out their projects at 114 universities and research centres in 19 countries across Europe and beyond. The countries where most projects are hosted are: Germany (27), France (12), the Netherlands (7), Israel (6), followed by Spain, Italy, Sweden and Norway (5 each). Twenty research groups include a researcher working in the UK, Switzerland, US, Australia, Singapore and South Africa.

The statistics and list of successful candidates are provisional. The European Commission and the UK Government have reached an agreement in principle on the association of the UK to Horizon Europe. This means that the UK will be formally associated to Horizon Europe as of 1 January 2024 and that the association would apply only for award procedures implementing 2024 budget and onwards. Entities established in the UK can continue to apply to Horizon Europe grant award procedures funded from budget appropriations of year 2023 but they will not be covered by the association of the UK to Horizon Europe and thus they will not be eligible to receive EU funding. For this and other calls from the 2023 Work Programme, the transitional arrangement applies and the recommended for funding UK-based applicants may receive EU funding if they choose to transfer their proposal to an eligible Host Institution.

ERC Synergy Grants
 

The Synergy Grant scheme is aimed at a group of two to maximum four Principal Investigators (PIs) working together and bringing different skills and resources to tackle ambitious research problems. One Principal Investigator per research group can be hosted or engaged by an institution outside of the EU or Associated Countries. More information
 

About the ERC
 

The ERC, set up by the European Union in 2007, is the premier European funding organisation for excellent frontier research. It funds creative researchers of any nationality and age, to run projects based across Europe. The ERC offers four core grant schemes: Starting Grants, Consolidator Grants, Advanced Grants and Synergy Grants. With its additional Proof of Concept Grant scheme, the ERC helps grantees to bridge the gap between their pioneering research and early phases of its commercialisation. The ERC is led by an independent governing body, the Scientific Council. Since November 2021, Maria Leptin is the President of the ERC. The overall ERC budget from 2021 to 2027 is more than €16 billion, as part of the Horizon Europe programme, under the responsibility of European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, Iliana Ivanova.