Who funds microplastics research?

We count 46 funded microplastics projects, active between 2023 and 2031, from 5 funders. The most came from EU · MSCA (13 projects), EU · Food, Bioeconomy Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment (8 projects) and EU · EIC (5 projects). The median award is $510K, across the 45 of 46 projects that list an amount.

Funded projects

46

Funders

5

Median award

$510K

Open calls now

0

Top funders of microplastics research

Projects whose title or summary mentions microplastics. Median award: of the projects that list an amount, in US dollars; “—” when fewer than 3 do.

Open microplastics funding calls

No open call mentions microplastics in our listings today. We add new calls twice a day; create a free account to get an alert when one opens.

Forecast: announced, not open yet

1 forecast call on microplastics. Funders publish forecasts before a call opens; you can't apply to these yet, and dates can change.

• ForecastMicroplastics Research and Resource Coordination Center (U24 - Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
  National Institutes of HealthNot specifiedExpected to open October 1, 2026

Funded microplastics projects

A sample, latest start first, at most three per program.

• REU Site: Interdisciplinary Research on Plastic Pollution
  NSF · ENG · $411,181 · ends 2029
• This project explores how small plastic pieces, known as microplastics, affect the health of soil when they are spread onto farmland as…
  USDA · $853,610 · ends 2029
• ERI: Hybrid Physics-Informed and Data-Driven Modeling and Vibration Control of Variable-Mass Rotating Machinery
  NSF · ENG · $199,977 · ends 2028
• Bio-Impermeable TPU Copolymers: ML-Guided Design for Predictive Biocircular Materials Engineering
  NSF · ENG · $540,690 · ends 2028
• Sustainable and Microplastic-Free PHA-based Materials for the Next Generation of Dental Appliances
  UKRI · Innovate UK · £494,721 · ends 2028
• Microfluidic Approach for Rapid Discovery of Enzymes for Microplastic Breakdown and Environmental Impacts
  UKRI · UKRI CRCRM · £995,770 · ends 2028
• Microplastics are an emerging and largely invisible threat to agricultural soils, ecosystems, and human health
  USDA · $150,000 · ends 2028
• Optimizing Polyhydroxyalkanoate Production Through Macro and Molecular Insights in Mixed Microbial Cultures
  EU · MSCA · ends 2028
• PS Pellet: Scalable plastic-free pellets for high-performance soluble-laundry capsules
  UKRI · Innovate UK · £545,385 · ends 2027
• Effective treatment of microplastics and per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (pfas) using thermal plasma discharge in water approach
  DOE · $201,036 · ends 2027

How we count

Funded projects come from public award records (NIH RePORTER, NSF, EU CORDIS, UKRI Gateway to Research, Wellcome, the Gates Foundation, DOE, NASA and USDA NIFA) whose title or summary matches “microplastic or microplastics”. NIH lists each budget year separately; one project counts once. Amounts are as the funder lists them; medians use only projects that list one, in US dollars. Open calls and forecasts are from our listings of October 28, 2026. A project can mention a topic without being mainly about it, so treat the counts as a guide to who funds the area.