ERC Starting grants 2025: €761 M for 478 winners; Germany hosts the most award-winning projects

478 young researchers were awarded Starting Grants in 2025 (-16 compared to 2024), for a total budget of €761 M (-€19 M) funded under Horizon Europe, announced the European Research Council on 04/09/2025.

These grants, which average €1.5 M over five years, "support cutting-edge research in a wide range of fields, from life sciences and physics to social sciences and the humanities". They will help "researchers at the start of their careers to launch their own projects, train their teams and pursue their most promising ideas".

In 2025, nationals from 51 countries will be awarded grants (the same as in 2024). The award-winning researchers will conduct their research at universities and research centres in 25 EU countries and associated countries (+1): mainly in Germany (99 projects, +1 compared to 2024), the United Kingdom (60, +10), the Netherlands (44, -7) and France (41, -8).

Although Germany hosts the largest number of award-winning projects, it ranks only 13^th out of 25 in winners per capita, with just under 12 winners per 10 million inhabitants.

«All these bright minds and the…