The Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology is pleased to announce its 2025 Call for Exploratory Research Projects (ERPs), bearing the seal of the UT Austin Portugal Program.
Advanced Computing | Clean Energy | Nanotechnologies | Space-Earth Technologies
This Call supports high-impact, exploratory research collaborations between Portuguese research teams and researchers at The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin), advancing scientific excellence, innovation, and long-term transatlantic partnerships.
Projects funded under this Call are expected to pursue ambitious, high-risk / high-reward research ideas, with clearly defined outcomes achievable within a 12-month timeframe, and with potential to scale toward future research, innovation, or societal impact.
For full details on eligibility, funding conditions, and submission requirements, please consult the official call text here.
Deadline
Submissions are accepted until February 10, 2026, 5 p.m. (Lisbon time)
Applicants must use a specific online form submitted through the myFCT platform.
At a Glance
Who can apply: Eligible teams from Portugal and UT Austin
Funding (Portugal): Up to €50,000 per project (lump sum)
Funding (UT Austin): Between $50,000 and $100,000 per project
Total funding: €400,000 (Portugal). Matched funding at UT Austin for UT Austin research teams (through the Program’s budget)
Projects funded: At least 8
Duration: 12 months (extendable up to 3 months, upon justification)
Deadline: February 10, 5 p.m. (Lisbon time)
Submission platform: myFCT (Portuguese PI submits)
What type of research projects are we looking for?
This call supports high-impact, exploratory research collaborations between Portuguese research teams and researchers at The University of Texas at Austin, fostering scientific excellence, innovation, and long-term transatlantic partnerships.
In this Call, “high-risk / high-reward” refers to exploratory research that tests new ideas, methods, or combinations of expertise that may not yet be fully validated, but that can open pathways toward larger-scale research, innovation, or societal impact.
Projects should:
- Address scientific topics in the areas of the Program (Phase IV)
- Demonstrate novelty and ambition
- Show strong complementarity between Portuguese and UT Austin teams
- Be achievable within the Call’s timeframe and funding limits
Research Areas
FCT is launching the current call to fund applications addressing the following challenges in the four flagship scientific areas of the Program:
- Advanced Computing: Scaling energy-efficient computing tools, such as greener and more sustainable AI solutions, with a focus on efficiency and applying translational AI across different domains.
- Clean Energy: Achieving climate neutrality, with priority on climate-neutral cities, greening industries, and developing future energy systems.
- Nanotechnologies: Advancing critical materials, particularly in battery technology, semiconductors, and green hydrogen production.
- Space-Earth Technologies: Exploiting Space technology, namely for sensing and related enabling solutions, to develop Earth models and applications resulting in actionable insights for better decision-making, prevention, and mitigation of challenges such as forest fires, coastal erosion, soil moisture monitoring, and ocean ecosystem management
For detailed information on the topics covered within each research area, please refer to the Terms of Reference, available for download on the official call website.
What Portuguese entities are eligible to apply?
According to FCT’s call announcement, the following Portuguese entities are eligible under this call:
- Higher Education Institutions, their Institutes, and R&D units;
- State, international or associated Laboratories with head offices in Portugal;
- Non-profit private institutions whose main objective is R&D activities, including Collaborative Laboratories (CoLab) and Centres for Technology and Innovation (CTI);
- Other non-profit private and public institutions developing or participating in scientific research activities.
UT Austin further defines eligibility criteria for its faculty and research staff to co-lead project applications under this call. The applicable requirements are set out in the Call Announcement and should be consulted accordingly.
What are the criteria for consortium composition?
Submitted proposals must include one or more Portuguese entities with eligible status, as defined in the Call Announcement, and at least one partner from The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin). Proposals in the Advanced Computing research area may be led by a Principal Investigator affiliated with the Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC).
The consortium may also include, on the Portuguese side, collaborative institutions such as companies or similar entities that contribute relevant expertise to the project. However, these entities are not eligible for funding under this call.
The members of the UT Austin Portugal Program governance structure (Program Board, External Review Committee, Board of Directors and Executive Team) are not allowed to participate as PI, team members or consultants.
Available Budget
The budget allocation for this call is €400,000 for eligible Portuguese institutions. Selected projects will receive up to €50,000 each to fund activities carried out by the Portuguese teams.
The UT Austin Portugal Program’s budget at UT Austin will fund its teams with between $50K and $100K per project to make possible for PIs to hire full-time PhD students who may spend some time in Portugal as exchange students during the projects. UT Austin teams will be officially notified of their selection for funding by the Program’s office at UT, not by FCT.
The Program is expected to support, at least, 8 exploratory research projects through this Call.
Application Process
- Applications are submitted only once, through myFCT platform, by the stated deadline.
- The Portuguese PI is responsible for submission.
- UT Austin researchers must complete the administrative steps required for participation (e.g.: CIÊNCIA ID and CIÊNCIAVITAE registration), with guidance from the PI in Portugal.
- Proposals must reflect a jointly prepared project by the Portuguese and UT Austin teams.
- All documentation must be submitted in English.
Duration
The maximum duration of a project is 12 months, extendable for a maximum of 3 months, upon formal request, in duly justified cases.
FAQs
Yes, we’ll be glad to help you find the best match for you. You should contact us at our offices in Portugal (research@utaustinportugal.org) and at UT (Marco Bravo – bravo@austin.utexas.edu). When reaching out to our team, provide us with a brief description of your project idea, your research interests and/or the research expertise you are looking for.
A single application must be submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) based in Portugal. The application must reflect a joint proposal jointly developed by the PI in Portugal and the PI based at UT Austin.
The UT Austin PI must provide the Portuguese PI with all information and documentation necessary for the preparation and submission of the proposal. All actions required from the UT Austin side are detailed in the Call Announcement and must be complied with accordingly.
The UT Austin team must be led by a tenured or tenure-track faculty at UT Austin, who will be responsible for the project at UT Austin.
In the area of Advanced Computing, full-time senior researchers from the Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC) may also lead projects, as long as they have a PI status, which should be indicated in the confirmation statement.
Eligibility will be verified by the Program upon authorization by FCT to access the proposals.
Yes, but with limits with regard to the Portuguese research team:
- A PI in Portugal may submit only one application as a PI and participate in one more as a team member.
- A researcher who is not a PI may participate in up to two applications.
UT Austin research team:
- There is no limit to the number of projects for which one particular PI at UT Austin may apply.
No. All components must be submitted in English.
The Principal Investigator (PI) based in Portugal will submit a single application through FCT’s electronic submission system. The PI of the research team at UT Austin is, nevertheless, responsible for providing their Portuguese counterpart with all necessary information and documentation required for the preparation, drafting, and submission of the proposal.
In addition, the UT Austin research team must be registered by the PI in Portugal in FCT’s electronic submission system as a collaborative institution.
Yes, they do. When completing the application form, the PI in Portugal is responsible for ensuring that members of the UT Austin research team:
- Obtain a CiênciaID;
- Register on CIÊNCIAVITAE (completion of the curriculum vitae is not required, though);
- Confirm their participation in the application.
Failure to complete these steps will prevent the assignment of tasks to members of the UT Austin research team.
- A 2-page CV for the UT Austin Principal Investigator and each member of the UT Austin research team.
- A statement from the UT Austin PI confirming that they will serve as the PI for the American counterpart and that they hold a tenure-track faculty appointment at the university. For proposals led by PIs at the Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC), the statement must confirm that the PI is a full-time senior researcher with PI status.
- A file containing the budget for the UT Austin team.
In addition, the UT Austin team must provide input for the writing of the proposal, as required in the application form, including contributions to the project timeline and work packages.
No. Projects already funded or substantially overlapping with other applications are ineligible. Related proposals must be declared.
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- Up to €50,000 per project for Portuguese institutions (lump-sum)
- Between $50,000 and $100,000 USD per project for UT Austin teams.
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Considering the maximum amount of eligible funding per project, the Program expects to support eight exploratory research projects through this call. However, the actual number of exploratory projects funded will depend on the quality of the submitted proposals and requested funding.
- Portugal: eligible under FCT lump-sum simplified cost model, incl. personnel, consumables, travel, services, etc., per regulations.
- UT Austin: eligible: research-related direct costs (graduate student salaries, research materials, travel). non-eligible: faculty salary + equipment purchase
No. Industrial/collaborative institutions may participate but receive no direct funding.
An international panel of independent reviewers, affiliated with foreign institutions, will carry out the evaluation.
The selection and ranking of projects are based on a Project Merit Indicator (MP) using the following criteria, which are described in greater detail in the Guide for Peer Reviewers and in the Terms of Reference for the 2025 Call for Exploratory Research Projects under the UT Austin Portugal Program:
A. Scientific merit and novelty of the project from an international standpoint and alignment with the objectives of the UT Austin Portugal Program and the challenges of the scientific area where it falls under;
B. Scientific merit of the PI and the research team;
C. Feasibility of the work program (including its planning) and the expected indicators, as well as the budget adequacy.
D. Potential social and economic impact of the research work and contribution towards relevant Portuguese research and innovation agendas.
The Merit of the Project (MP) is given by:
MP= 0.4 A + 0.2 B + 0.2 C + 0.2 D
At the end of the projects, Portuguese PIs must submit a final scientific/financial report to FCT.
The international consortium will also be required to follow reporting processes required by UT Austin Portugal.
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