ER
European Research Council

ERC Synergy Grants 2026

Pays a group of two to four Principal Investigators up to EUR 10 million to jointly tackle a research problem none of them could solve alone.

ClosedEuropean Research CouncilEU

This is a single-stage Horizon Europe ERC call with an indicative 2026 budget of €500 million, expected to fund around 49 grants. Synergy Grants are awarded as a lump sum of up to €10 million over six years, with up to an extra €4 million for start-up costs, major equipment or large facilities. Proposals go through a three-step evaluation including interviews of every Principal Investigator, judge…

This call is for a Synergy Grant Group of two to four Principal Investigators with competitive track records who want to jointly address an ambitious research problem that couldn't be tackled by any one of them and their team working alone. It's open to any field of science, and the group's work should enable substantial advances at the frontiers of knowledge β€” for example by combining scientific fields or using unconventional methods.

CycleiHow often this grant runs - e.g. annually, on a rolling basis, or a one-off call.No fixed schedule
Next deadlineiThe next date applications are due. Rolling means you can apply any time.-
Decision timeiTypical time from the deadline to the funder's decision.-
Project durationiHow long the funded work is expected to run.1–72 months
Award typeiThe form of funding - grant, equity, loan, tax credit, etc.Grant
Match fundingiThe share of project costs you must cover yourself. 0% = fully funded.-
Funding pooliThe total budget available across all awards in this round.€500M

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