UK-based researchers amongst biggest beneficiaries of Horizon’s ERC Starting Grants

UK-based researchers amongst biggest beneficiaries of Horizon's ERC Starting Grants

The European Research Council has awarded €760m in Starting Grants to young researchers, with 60 UK-based scientists winning €90m to launch cutting-edge projects-making the UK the second-biggest beneficiary after Germany. The funding will allow them to launch pioneering projects, build teams and pursue bold ideas in fields ranging from climate change and quantum computing to mental health and migration.

On 4 September, the European Research Council (ERC) announced the award of 478 Starting Grants to young scientists and scholars across Europe, including 60 researchers based in the UK. The funding - over €760 million in total - supports cutting-edge research in a wide range of fields, from life sciences and physics to social sciences and humanities. It will help researchers at the beginning of their careers to launch their own projects, form their teams and pursue their most promising ideas. These grants are part of Horizon Europe, the EU's research and innovation programme to which the UK associated on 1 January 2024.

With 60 young researchers receiving €90 million for five years, the UK is once again one of the top beneficiaries of the ERC's Starting Grant, second only to Germany. Last year, 50 UK-based researchers received €75 million in the 2024 round of ERC Starting Grants.

EU-funded projects based in the UK will cover a wide range of topics from climate to migration, quantum computing to semiconductors, mental health to politics.

Starting Grants amount to €1.5 million per grant for a period of five years. On top of its standard grants, the ERC offers additional funding to help new grantees establish their laboratories or research team. This funding is now being doubled from up to €1 million to up to €2 million for researchers who relocate from overseas to EU member states or countries associated with Horizon Europe, including the United Kingdom. The increased funding aims to further help top scientists from around the world by supporting their transition and establishment in Europe.

The UK was by far the biggest beneficiary of the 2025 round of Advanced Grants, announced by the ERC in June. Fifty-six (20%) out of the total of 281 successful projects were UK based. Of these 56 researchers, almost half (23) came from the EU. The Advanced Grant competition is one of the most prestigious and competitive funding schemes in the EU. It gives senior researchers the opportunity to pursue ambitious, curiosity-driven projects that could lead to major scientific breakthroughs. The Advanced Grants can go up to €2.5 million.

The ERC, set up by the European Union in 2007, is the premier European funding organisation for excellent frontier research. It supports 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.

Horizon Europe is the biggest international research and innovation programme in the world with more than £82 billion (€95.5 billion) of funding available over seven years (2021 to 2027) from the EU budget, to which all associated countries are adding further contributions.

Questions & Answers on the UK's association to Horizon Europe can be found here, as well as in this FAQ

Joint statement by the European Commission and the UK Government on the UK's association to Horizon Europe and Copernicus

UK association to Horizon Europe UK national contact points for Horizon Europe