Barcelona gets seven European grants for pioneering research
The European Research Council’s Proof of Concept grants will see 22.5 million euros awarded to 150 different projects for pioneering research in 2025, with seven in Barcelona attracting an overall sum of 1,050,000 euros. The city is the third main European science capital, behind Munich and Paris.
The goal of the Proof of Concept grants is to recognise researchers directing a project funded by the European Research Council, taking it further and exploring its social or commercial potential. The grants help the different beneficiaries to cut the distance between the results of pioneering science and the first stages of commercialisation and application in society. Each research group will get 150,000 euros to be able to analyse the feasibility of products and protect the results with intellectual property.
These grants will help consolidate the city’s backing for innovation and science as drivers of social and economic progress. The city has the intention of further developing this strategy in the future, as shown by the Barcelona Impulsa Plan, the Strategic Science and Innovation Plan and the backing for the projects within the Barcelona Innovation Coast, with investment to be double during the 2025-2027 period.
Pioneering projects
The Proof of Concept grants cover various spheres of research, such as artificial intelligence to prevent conflicts from escalating, or innovative tools such as the new platform for testing new medicines against cancer.
The projects receiving grants are:
- André Gröger – Barcelona School of Economics– Monitoring War Destruction
- Jose Ignacio Martin- Subero – IDIBAPS Institut d’Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer– Translating Epigenetic Memory into Personalized Prognostic Solutions for Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia
- Xavier Rovira Clavé – Institut de Bioenginyeria de Catalunya– An evolution-focused platform for cancer drug discovery
- Giulio Ruffini – Neuroelectrics Neuroelectrics – GALVANI Scalable Workflow Innovation for Focal tES Therapy
- Manuel Salmeron Sánchez – Institut de Bioenginyeria de Catalunya– Functional bioinks for engineered tissues
- Laura Soucek – Institut d’Investigació Oncològica de Vall Hebron– Bringing MYC inhibition to the brain by ultrasound technology
- Victor Vilarassa – Institute of Environmental Assessment and water research (IDAEA) – Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas– A new paradigm for forecasting injection-induced earthquakes.
The ERC Proof of Concept 2025 programme includes two calls for projects to test a concept, with an overall budget of 45 million euros. The second round of funding is open to new applications until 18 September.