Florian Meyer receives Synergy Grant of the European Research Council
The ERC has awarded an international research team around Florian Meyer a Synergy Grant in recognition of their research on fire safety in space.
Joint Press release of ZARM and the University of Bremen
The European Research Council (ERC) has awarded an international research team around Florian Meyer from the Center of Applied Space Technology and Microgravity (ZARM) at the University of Bremen a Synergy Grant in recognition of their research on fire safety in space.
This year, the ERC is providing €684 million in funding to support exceptional researchers who wish to set new scientific standards through international collaboration and the exchange of expertise and resources. Out of 712 applications, ZARM, together with its partners from the Ghent University, Sorbonne Université and Centrale Lille Institute succeeded with their “FireSpace” project. This makes them one of 66 research teams selected to receive this highly prestigious grant.
The ERC Synergy Grant is one of the highest honors for excellent international research bringing great visibility to their project worldwide. “FireSpace” will receive around €14 million in funding, €5.3 million of which will go to the University of Bremen. The funding, which will be distributed over six years, will enable the implementation of several research positions, the acquisition of technical equipment, the use of experimental infrastructures, and face-to-face scientific exchange between the participating institutions.
Success after an intensive application process
Florian Meyer is the head of the Combustion Engineering research group at ZARM. Since June 2023, he has been collaborating with colleagues from France and Belgium on an application for a Synergy Grant. After the complex application process, the team traveled to Brussels in September 2025 to present the project and the intensive cooperation between the participating institutes in person. "The amount of work involved was enormous, and the probability of being selected out of 712 applications was low," says Meyer. "Today, of course, we are glad that we believed in our project, and we are incredibly proud to receive such a prestigious award."
Joint research for greater safety in space
“FireSpace” focuses on combustion processes and fire safety strategies under space conditions. The ZARM team has conducted experiments in previous projects, for example in the Bremen Drop Tower, some with support from the German Space Agency at DLR. They were able to prove that an increased oxygen concentration in spacecraft atmospheres, as planned for future space missions, can significantly increase the risk of fire. The international partners are complementing the research by developing new types of fire-retarded materials, and investigating innovative fire mitigation methods, such as using acoustic waves. They are also conducting detailed numerical simulations to scale up the results to the dimensions of spacecraft and habitats. Thanks to the funding, the team will now conduct additional experiments in the Bremen Drop Tower, on parabolic flights, and on sounding rockets. This project is special because the close cooperation between the partner institutions will ensure that the results are directly comparable and transferable. "With the Synergy Grant, we will achieve results that would not have been possible in individual projects," Meyer emphasizes. “Our long-term goal is to establish a secure basis for an improved fire safety strategy for astronautical exploration.”
Further Information:
The ERC funding is part of the EU's Horizon Europe research and innovation program.
FIRESPACE involves Centrale Lille Institut - Serge Bourbigot (Corresponding PI), Ghent University - Bart Merci (PI), Sorbonne Université - Guillaume Legros (PI), and ZARM, University of Bremen - Florian Meyer (PI).
Scientific contact
Dr. Florian Meyer
florian.meyer@zarm.uni-bremen.de
Press contact:
Jasmin Plättner
0049 421 218-57794
jasmin.plaettner(at)zarm.uni-bremen(dot)de
