Project Grants for Industrial Biotechnology & Environmental Biotechnology Research

The proposed research must address major challenges within Industrial Biotechnology and Environmental Biotechnology, with a strategic perspective addressing major questions and challenges within these fields. Projects must be based at a university or other non-profit research institution in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway or Sweden.

The research should be fundamental in character but have a strategic outlook to scaling potential(s), contribute to sustainability and, if relevant, increase productivity.

Areas of Support

• One or more of the following topics should preferably be included in the research:
  • Use or engineering of biological/biotechnological tools, systems or microorganisms for synthesis and production of valuable products (e.g., energy, fuels, chemicals, proteins, and materials).
  • Development of technologies and processes for bioproduction.
  • Improvement of the efficiency and/or sustainability of biomanufacturing.
  • Use or engineering of biological/biotechnological tools, systems, or microorganisms to protect or improve the environment.
  • Understanding, protection, or manipulation of natural or industrial ecosystems in relation to application of biotechnology.
  • Data science to advance research within industrial or environmental biotechnology, including related ecosystems research.

Funding Information

• The total grant amount for this call is DKK 30million. Applicants may apply for DKK 300.000- 1.000.000 per year for projects lasting 1-3 years (maximum DKK 3.0 million per project).
• Projects with a main applicant and a co-applicant located in different Nordic countries can apply for up to DKK 1.35 million per year (for these projects, the max. possible total amount is DKK 4 million per grant).

Eligibility Criteria

• Researchers with an independent research program at a university or other non-profit research institution in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, or Sweden are eligible to apply for these project grants.
• Eligible candidates may be junior-level researchers, under the condition that they can document to have established themselves as independent researchers. As the grant cannot cover salary of the grantee, the applicant must be guaranteed their own salary for the entire project period.
• In addition to the main applicant, applications may include one or more co-applicants who contribute scientifically to the project and will receive a financial share of the grant. A co-applicant must have an independent research program at a university or other non-profit research institution. There is no geographic restriction to the location of a co-applicant. The project may also include research partners who do not receive funding from the grant. Those research partners may be located at a for-profit organization.
• Applications from Master students and PhD students will not be taken into consideration.
• The application and any additional uploads must be written in English.

Ineligible

• NNF will not award funding for:
  • Commercial activities
  • Overhead
  • Double funding of projects:
    • If the applicant has received funding for parts of the project from other sources, in part or in full, this must be accounted for in the budget, as no budgetary overlaps are allowed.
    • If the applicant, after submission of the NNF application, receives funding for the project or parts of the applied project from others, NNF must be contacted as soon as possible.

For more information, visit Novo Nordisk Foundation.