The UK has regained the top spot for winning European Research Council (ERC) consolidator grants, with the country taking more mid-career awards than any other country for the first time since Brexit.

Sixty-six researchers at UK universities have won the prestigious grants in the 2026 funding round, ahead of Germany (56 awards), the Netherlands (40 grants) and Spain (26 grants), it was on 9 December.

The UK’s success securing the five-year awards, worth up to €2 million (£1.75 million), saw it overtake Germany, which last year won 67 awards compared with the UK’s tally of 38, which was joint second alongside France.

It enjoyed similar success in June when it won more ERC advanced grants than any other country, edging ahead of Germany for the first time since it re-entered the Horizon research programme in January 2024 after a three-year absence.

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Often hailed as the “gold standard” for European research, ERC grants are one of the most competitive awards on the continent, with only 11 per cent of 3,121 applications to the consolidator award system winning funding. That follows a 35 per cent increase in applications on the 2025 round, the commission said.

Overall, Germany won the most awards (48) based on a researcher’s nationality, followed by Italy (37) and the UK (33).

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Some 38 per cent of the researchers selected are women, a figure that has remained stable over the past few years.

“This was one of the most competitive ERC calls ever, with record demand and also many excellent projects left unfunded,” said Maria Leptin, the ERC’s president, adding: “It is yet another reminder of how urgent the call for increased EU investment in frontier research has become.”

“To see all this talent with groundbreaking ideas, based in Europe, is truly inspiring. This bold research may well lead to new industries, improve lives and strengthen Europe’s global standing,” continued Leptin on the awards, which are available to those between seven to 12 years after they took their PhD.

Ekaterina Zaharieva, European commissioner for startups, research and innovation, said this year’s “record budget of €728 million invested to support these scientific projects shows the EU is serious about making the continent attractive for excellent researchers”.

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Despite its success in winning ERC grants, UK university leaders have nonetheless raised concerns that the country is struggling to win funding outside the “Pillar 1” stream dedicated to basic research. In July the Russell Group of research-intensive universities  the UK is only winning 60 to 70 per cent of the larger collaborative research grants, available under Pillar 2, that it previously obtained prior to leaving Horizon in January 2021.

jack.grove@timeshighereducation.com