Erkko Foundation Awards €11.5M to Biodiversity, Quantum and Materials Research

The Jane and Aatos Erkko Foundation said this week it awarded €11.5 million to eight Finnish research, technology and cultural projects, bringing its lifetime support to more than €500 million.

The largest award — €2.499 million — goes to a University of Helsinki project led by Anna-Liisa Laine and Lassi Ahlvik. The multidisciplinary ECO2 initiative will develop a data-based natural capital assessment model to incorporate biodiversity values into policy design, national accounts and corporate decision-making over five years.

A €1.449 million grant went to Anu Eskelinen’s group at the University of Oulu to study mechanisms behind plant biodiversity change. The five-year project will investigate why species respond differently to climate and other global environmental shifts and seek ways to better protect and restore biodiversity.

Several awards back quantum research at Aalto University and partner institutions. Jukka Pekola’s ThermoQuantum team received €1.839 million to tackle overheating in quantum components. Sebastiaan van Dijken’s project was awarded €1.006 million, and a joint team led by Anton V. Zasedatelev and Tapio Niemi won €999,000 for work on quantum interfaces and macroscopic quantum states. An Aalto–Finnish Meteorological Institute collaboration on nanoscale nucleation secured €1.569 million.

Other grants include €1.128 million for HealingSense2, a materials project involving Tampere University and the University of Oulu, and €1.06 million for a three-year national rollout of music education reform led by the Finnish Conservatory Union.

Nils Ittonen, chair of the foundation’s board, said: “The half‑billion‑euro milestone reflects the foundation’s long-term commitment to strengthening Finnish research, expertise and cultural life.” It has supported major cultural projects such as Tanssin talo and the AD Museum, along with significant biomedical research.