Challenge Programme

Challenge Programme — Hybrid Bio-Electrocatalysis

Supports interdisciplinary teams exploring bioelectrocatalytic processes for sustainable materials and chemistry technologies.

The Novo Nordisk Foundation's Challenge Programme 2027 — Hybrid Bio-Electrocatalysis theme supports large interdisciplinary research consortia to unravel the electron transfer mechanisms operating in hybrid bio-electrocatalytic systems. This is a sustainability-oriented basic science call that sits at the intersection of biology, chemistry, and materials science, seeking to build fundamental understanding of how biological and synthetic catalytic components interact at the electron-transfer level — knowledge with long-term implications for sustainable energy conversion and green chemistry. The call is one of four themes in the Challenge Programme 2027, which has a combined total budget of up to DKK 600 million across all themes.

For the bio-electrocatalysis theme, the total budget available is up to DKK 150 million, with individual consortium grants of DKK 30–75 million over a fixed six-year project period. Consortia must comprise two to four research groups. The main applicant must be an independent tenured or tenure-track researcher employed at a European university, hospital, or non-profit research organisation (EU, Schengen area, or UK), committing at least 75% of their time to the project with salary guaranteed for the full duration. At least one applicant — main or co-applicant — must be at least 75% employed and have their research group at a Danish institution. Co-applicant institutions may be located anywhere globally, and industry collaboration is permitted, though industrial partners cannot receive NNF grant funding directly.

The programme operates a two-stage selection process. Stage 1 expressions of interest close on 7 October 2026 at 2:00 pm Copenhagen time; Stage 1 results are announced in December 2026. Shortlisted consortia then submit a full comprehensive application accompanied by a detailed budget and attend an online interview with the review panel, with final decisions in June 2027. Each researcher may submit only one Challenge Programme 2027 proposal as main applicant across all four themes and cannot simultaneously be a co-applicant on a different Challenge 2027 call. Applications are submitted through the NORMA portal.