Challenge Programme

Challenge Programme — Earth-Abundant Materials

Supports interdisciplinary teams developing earth-abundant materials for climate and heavy industry technologies.

The Novo Nordisk Foundation's Challenge Programme 2027 — Earth-Abundant Materials theme funds large research consortia to discover and harness novel earth-abundant materials for sustainable technologies. The scientific focus spans materials science, chemistry, and sustainability-oriented engineering, aiming to reduce dependence on scarce or geopolitically sensitive materials in energy and industrial technology. This call is one of four themes in the Challenge Programme 2027, which carries a combined total budget of up to DKK 600 million, continuing a grant series the Foundation has run annually since 2014 and through which it has deployed hundreds of millions of DKK in flagship long-duration research programmes.

For this earth-abundant materials theme, the available budget is up to DKK 150 million, distributed as grants of DKK 30–75 million per consortium over a fixed six-year project period. Consortia must include two to four research groups. The main applicant must be an independent tenured or tenure-track researcher at a European institution (EU, Schengen area, or UK), with at least 75% time commitment and guaranteed salary for the full project period. At least one applicant — whether main or co-applicant — must be at least 75% employed and have their active research group at a Danish university, hospital, or non-profit research organisation, establishing the required Danish institutional anchor. Co-applicant institutions may be based anywhere in the world, and industrial partners may participate in the consortium without receiving NNF grant funding.

The call follows a two-stage process: Stage 1 expressions of interest close on 7 October 2026 at 2:00 pm Copenhagen time, with shortlisting decisions in December 2026. Shortlisted consortia submit full applications with detailed budgets and attend an online review panel interview, with final funding decisions in June 2027. Each researcher may act as main applicant on only one of the four Challenge Programme 2027 themes and may not simultaneously be a co-applicant on another Challenge 2027 call. Submissions are made through the Foundation's NORMA system. Contact: challenge@novo.dk.