Forskarskolan energisystem doctoral project grants
Grants for Swedish university-led projects bringing doctoral researchers from different disciplines together to advance a fossil-free energy system.
Diese Finanzierungsmöglichkeit ist derzeit auf Englisch beschrieben.
Forskarskolan energisystem funds projects with two or three doctoral researchers working on a shared energy-system challenge. Each project combines social sciences or humanities with natural sciences or engineering. The 2026 round is closed; the programme runs through 2031.
The 2026 call expected grants of roughly SEK 9–16 million per project, depending on the number of doctoral researchers. Eligible costs include doctoral salaries, travel to courses and conferences, fieldwork, laboratory work, supervision and supervisors’ participation in the research school. Funding covers at most four years of full-time study spread over up to five years. The applying department funds one year of departmental duties.
Partners doing work outside economic activity can receive up to 100% of their eligible costs. Economic activity means offering goods or services on a market. For companies, basic research—work to gain fundamental knowledge without a direct commercial use—can receive up to 100%. Research to develop or significantly improve products, processes or services can receive up to 70% for small companies, 60% for medium-sized companies and 50% for large companies. Company size takes account of employees, finances and links to other companies.
These are maximum rates. The agency can require additional co-financing, including from partners outside economic activity. Companies must cover the unfunded part themselves or with other private cash; another organisation’s unpaid contribution cannot cover a company’s own costs. Other public support for the same costs counts towards the applicable ceiling and must be disclosed, as must directly managed EU funding. Unused grants must be repaid, and funding can be recovered if awarded incorrectly or its conditions are breached.
Eligibility
The following conditions apply to the 2026 call:
- A Swedish university or higher education institution entitled to award doctorates must coordinate the project. Other organisations can take part, including research institutes and industry partners. Doctoral researchers must be employed by Swedish higher education institutions and based at different institutions.
- The project needs at least one supervisor and doctoral researcher in social sciences or humanities, and at least one in natural sciences or engineering. Interdisciplinary researchers can participate with colleagues from complementary research environments. A supervisor may lead at most two applications.
- Doctoral researchers must attend the school’s shared activities, including its 30-credit course package. Project leaders and supervisors must help design and deliver the courses and participate in shared meetings and seminars.
- Projects may start no earlier than 1 December 2026 and must end by 31 December 2031. Doctoral researchers must be in place by 1 March 2027.
- Funding an organisation without activities in Sweden is exceptional. It must have unique expertise unavailable in Sweden, the project must be essential to the programme’s goals, and knowledge must clearly transfer to Swedish organisations. The agency may refuse funding even when all three conditions are met.
Costs must be actual, recorded by the recipient and incurred within the approved project period. Universities use their own full-cost method for overheads. A 45% ceiling on actual overheads, calculated against eligible salary costs, applies to the following organisations for non-economic work. They must receive funding for independent research through a government decision:
- Research organisations that are limited companies or partnerships under the state’s direct or indirect controlling influence.
- Research foundations with one or more government-appointed board members.
- State authorities, other than universities, tasked with conducting their own research.
Economic and non-economic activities must be accounted for separately. Other partners, including companies doing economic work, can claim actual overheads up to 30% of eligible salary costs.
How to apply
- Status
- geschlossen
- Antragsbeginn
- Antragsschluss
- Beschränkungen dieser Antragsrunde
- 2026 call; applications closed at 23:59 on 3 June 2026.
The 2026 application deadline has passed. Applications were submitted through the “Finansiering av forskning, innovation och affärsutveckling” service on Energimyndigheten’s Mina sidor. The person applying first needed permission in the service to represent the coordinating institution; approval could take a few days. The coordinator receives the grant and passes the relevant shares to the other funded partners.
The call allowed at most two attachments: all CVs in one document and the references cited in the application. Only those attachments were considered. Read the linked full call text for the 2026 research and application requirements.