EU-funded projects at the Great Exhibition Road Festival

These will feature in the World Science zone, located in the main entrance of Imperial College London, on Exhibition road. Projects cover a variety of topics: intelligent windfarms, innovative sugars supporting cancer care and a 3D audio experience. Doors are open all afternoon on Saturday and Sunday from 12 to 6PM.

When visiting the festival on 5 June, the European Commission's Director General for Research and Innovation, Marc Lemaitre said: "I was extremely pleased to see how the researchers are thinking about bringing research results further and making them benefit society, economic activity and employment."

A report released by the UK's Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) in the run-up to the festival illustrated the significant added value that the UK's association brings both to the UK and to the EU. This report covers Horizon 2020, the predecessor of the current programme, and the first three years of Horizon Europe. It found that the UK's share of funding rose from 5.8% in 2023 to 9.3% in 2024.

Among the successful projects that secured Horizon Europe grants during this period are:

• VectorGrid-Africa, a €6.1 million Horizon Europe project. It establishes the first ever network to monitor mosquito borne diseases across East and Southern Africa. The project will use data to enable rapid detection of invasive species, emerging diseases and genetic changes such as insecticide resistance. This could enable earlier detection of emerging risks, improved disease forecasting, and stronger local scientific capacity. The project is coordinated by the University of Glasgow.

• BLUECOAT, a €3.5m Horizon Europe project, led by the University of Birmingham. Researchers are developing highly durable surface coatings to reduce emissions and pollution in the maritime and construction industries. This will deliver significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and harmful pollutants.

Another set of three projects, highlighted by DSIT, focus on making pharmaceutical production more eco-friendly, on developing a new artificial vision and on making automated vehicles safe even in extreme weather. You can read more about these projects here. Around a third of the entire Horizon Europe budget remains to be allocated as part of the 2026-2027 Work Programme.

As part of its support for science and innovation, the EU celebrates women innovators. On 4 June, a UK-based researcher, Katerina Spranger, founder and CEO of Oxford Heartbeat, received this year's Women Innovators award of the European Innovation Council. The accolade is for exceptional women founders and co-founders from EU Member States and Associated Countries of Horizon Europe, including the UK. This year is its twelfth edition. The winner receives €100.000. Oxford Heartbeat harnesses artificial intelligence to enhance the safety and precision of brain aneurysm treatments.

Background

On 1 January 2024, the UK associated to Horizon Europe - the world's largest international research and innovation programme. Horizon Europe has more than £82 billion (€95.5 billion) funding available over seven years (2021 to 2027). It is open to participants across the globe, irrespective of where they are based. Researchers from associated countries have even greater opportunities. They can lead projects and receive direct funding from the programme. The programme supports major research and innovation projects and international partnerships helping to tackle global challenges.

The UK's association to Horizon Europe has considerably strengthened the EU-UK partnership in the research and innovation sector. The UK has performed particularly well in the highly competitive and prestigious calls of the European Research Council (ERC) and the Marie Skłodowska Curie Actions (MSCA).

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

UK association to Horizon Europe

Horizon Europe Work Programme 2026-2027

UK national contact points for Horizon Europe

Horizon dashboard, including EU-funded projects in the UK