Deadline: 09-Oct-2025
The Swiss Polar Institute is offering Technogrants to support Swiss groups developing and improving technologies for research in polar and other extreme high-altitude environments.
The grants can also be used to develop clean technologies that increase sustainability and lower the environmental footprint of polar and high-altitude research while maximizing scientific efforts in these regions.
The grants can cover costs of up to CHF 75,000 per project, with the total budget for 2025 capped at CHF 150,000. The grants can also be used to supplement funding from larger schemes such as the SNSF and the EU. Eligible costs include all expenses related to the conception, development, field testing, upgrading, and adjustment of science support technologies. Travel and logistics for field testing are also eligible. The offset of carbon emissions is considered an eligible cost if the applicant’s institution does not already offer it. Ineligible costs include salaries for permanent academic positions, overhead, and the acquisition of long-term assets.
The Technogrants are open to Swiss-led projects with a focus on technological development relevant to polar regions and other extreme high-altitude environments. The grants are available to doctoral students through senior researchers who are based at a Swiss public research institution. Private companies and start-ups can be partners in a project but cannot coordinate it. The Principal Investigator (PI) submitting the application must be employed at a Swiss public research institution.
The geographical focus of the grants is on technology development for polar science in the Arctic and Antarctic. This also includes research in remote high-altitude regions with complex logistics, such as the Andes and the Himalayas. In some cases, field testing can occur in comparable environments closer to home, like the Alps. Applicants should explicitly detail efforts made to reduce the environmental footprint of their project.
A complete application must be submitted through the online application form by October 9, 2025, at 12:00 noon Swiss time. The application file must include a completed online form, letters of support, CVs of the applicant and partners, and a completed carbon assessment tool. Incomplete or late applications will not be accepted.
Proposals will be evaluated by an independent scientific panel appointed by the SPI. The evaluation will be based on technological novelty and potential, the impact of the proposed technology on polar science, the impact of the funding on the development process, project feasibility, and the potential of the applicant(s). Particular attention will be paid to development aspects of technology as opposed to the purchase or minor adaptation of existing instruments. Evaluation results will be sent to applicants approximately four months after the deadline.
For more information, visit SPI.