What can be applied for?
The LiU profile area MATTER is motivated by the pressing market and societal need for accelerated sustainable materials development, which requires translational research with complementary expertise from physics, chemistry, engineering, AI, circularity, and more.
The primary objective of this call is therefore to support the development of new sustainable technologies (TRL 1-2) and allow them to bridge the gap with industry (TRL 3-6). This call is divided into two areas:
• LiU launchpad (LiU-L) that allows researchers to explore and validate ideas towards industrial applications.
• LiU Demonstrator (LiU-D) that allows researchers to develop basic prototypes, upscaling of synthesis, software, etc.
Each granted proposal will receive a contribution of up to 500 kSEK and last for 1 year.
Who can apply?
This call is open for researchers with academic experience up to 7 years after obtaining their PhD, today employed to least 50.1 % at IFM, ITN, IDA, and IEI, and that are employed for when the project starts. Researchers can only apply for either 1 (one) LiU-L or 1 (one) LiU-D project.
Application information
The applications process is divided into two stages. Stage 1 is a one-page written proposal according to the instructions below. In stage 2, selected proposals will be invited to pitch the idea to the MATTER review committee on 27 May, and the results will be announced by the beginning of June. Applicants with a proposal moving to stage 2 will be notified at the latest 6th of May 2025. We have the intention to fund up to 4 of both the LiU-D and LiU-L projects in this call. Granted innovative research projects must start no later than 31 Dec 2025.
The written proposal in stage 1 should include:
- A one-page summary of the proposal, using the proposal template, including a table of contents image and a motivation on how the project contributes to materials science for sustainable technologies.
- The proposal summary should include
• a description of the societal problem that the project is aiming to address,
• the proposed solution,
• interdisciplinarity of the project, and
• how the funding from MATTER will assist in propelling the project from TRL 1-2 to TRL 3-6. - a standard two-page CV including a link to Google Scholar and up to 5 publications relevant to the project.
Submit the proposal, as a one-pdf document to renee.kron@liu.se by 15th April at the latest.
Reporting
A final report on the project should be submitted by February 28th 2027.
Timeline
2025-03-10 Call opens
2025-04-15 Call closes
2025-05-06 Selected proposals invited for pitch session
2025-05-27 Pitch session
2025-06-05 Decision communicated
2025-12-31 Latest project start
2027-02-28 Project report submitted