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Horizon Europe · European Union

Call for proposals for ERC Proof of Concept — Proof of Concept Grant

Open

The EU's Horizon Europe programme expects to make 400 awards of €150,000 each, from a total budget of €60 million. Applications close on 10 Mar 2027 (EU calls usually close at 17:00 Brussels time).

Scope

Profile of the ERC Proof of Concept Eligible Principal Investigator : The ERC Proof of Concept Grant is open to Principal Investigators whose ERC main grant is ongoing, or Principal Investigators whose ERC main grant ends on or after the 1st of January 2026. For further information please refer to the ERC Work Programme 2027.

Who can apply

To be admitted to the competition, a proposal must be complete, readable, and accessible, and must be submitted before the relevant call deadline. Applications to the ERC 2027 Proof of Concept Grant call will be evaluated and selected in two rounds, based on two specific cut-off deadline. Incomplete proposals may be declared inadmissible (see below: “Proposal submission and description”). The content of the proposal must relate to the objectives and to the grant type set out in the call, as…

Applicant categories are a starting point. The official call decides eligibility.

Topics

ERC ERC-2027-POC European Research Council Frontier Research HORIZON-ERC-2027 Lump Sum POC POC2027 Proof of Concept Proof of Concept Lump Sum

Timing

Multiple cut-off call. Next deadline 2027-03-10; later stage/cut-off 2027-09-16. The portal states the exact cut-off time (EU calls usually close at 17:00 Brussels time).

How to apply

1. Application route stated by the funder: “Read the topic conditions on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal for eligible countries, consortium requirements, budget and the application route.”
2. Check the eligibility, documents and deadline on the official page (link below) before you start.

From the call text

Who can apply

Not stated in the call text we hold — check the official page

Company stage

HORIZON ERC Proof of Concept Grants topic in the Horizon Europe (HORIZON) programme, call ERC-2027-POC.

Single applicant or consortium

Read the topic conditions on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal for eligible countries, consortium requirements, budget and the application route.

Where applicants must be based

Read the topic conditions on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal for eligible countries, consortium requirements, budget and the application route.

Where to apply

Read the topic conditions on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal for eligible countries, consortium requirements, budget and the application route.

Read the EU application guide

Where these facts come from

Official sources

Official call page

Facts on this page come from the funder’s official data, taken on 14 Nov 2026. The funder's own documents, including later amendments, always take precedence.

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