The European Research Council (ERC) published the outcome of the latest round of its top-up funding scheme 'Proof of Concept'. A total of 60 grants, worth €150,000 each, have now been awarded to researchers who are already ERC grantees in order to bridge the gap between their work and marketable innovation.

The funding scheme 'Proof of Concept' 2012 from the European Research Council (ERC) were awarded to top-level researchers to bridge the gap between their work and marketable innovation. In total, 60 grants have now been awarded to researchers who are already ERC grantees, with the 27 latest announced on the 5 of February.

Proof of Concept funding can cover activities related to, for instance, intellectual property rights, investigation of commercial and business opportunities or technical validation. According to Commissioner for Research, Innovation and Science Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, through these grants and by funding 'blue sky' research in general, the ERC is helping make Europe more competitive now and for the future.

The grants are going to researchers across ten countries in the European Research Area (EU Member States plus countries associated to the research framework programme). Projects cover a wide range of topics, such as innovative drug therapies and new biomaterials, greener and cheaper industrial chemical substances, as well as a more inclusive approach for building accessibility.