(1 award. Grant applications entered into the IVADO / Institut Courtois / AC stream will also be considered for the AC moonshot grant stream competition, see Accelerate research grant for program guideline). 

The projects must be within Institut Courtois’ main research areas (quantum and photonic materials, materials for energy and environment, interfaces and molecular materials), as well as include development of self-driving labs (SDLs), automation tools required to build SDLs or AI for discovery of materials. 

Accelerate will hold an information session on July 4th at 9:30am in hybrid mode, please register at here. 

Eligibility 

• Projects must be led by at least three co-investigators (one being the principal investigator, PI), and must include a regular member of the Institut Courtois, a professor from the University of Toronto, and a professor from one of IVADO’s five partner universities (UdeM, Polytechnique, HEC, ULaval, and McGill). 
• The PI may submit only one application to this program; however, they may participate in other projects as a co-investigator. 
• Co-investigators from other Canadian universities may receive funding through an inter-institutional agreement. 
• Projects must align with the field of materials discovery (see Institut Courtois theme) and include a significant artificial intelligence component.
• For the University of Toronto PI, they must meet the following requirements: 
• Lead principal investigators must meet the University of Toronto’s eligibility guidelines and be eligible to hold tri-agency funding 
• Lead investigators holding a current (2024) AC grant are not eligible to apply for a 2025 grant as a lead, with the exception of a Seed Grant growing to a Moonshoot or Translation Grant. Seed Grant holders applying for a Moonshot or Translation grant will need to provide a 2-page report on the progress and outputs from the Seed Grant.  
• Applicants can only submit one application as a lead investigator. Applicants can only be listed as lead or co-principal investigator on a maximum of 2 applications across all AC grant types (Seed, Moonshot, Translation) per fiscal year. Individuals on multiple grants will need to justify their participation.  
• AC Staff Scientists are eligible co-applicants (procedurally, funding would flow to the lead PI). We encourage applicants to consider working with the AC Staff Scientists. View the list. airtable.com/app2K6UjG4yxXnaBp/shrnaT9Ptkkb7XadQ  
• There is no limit to the number of AC grants principal investigators join as collaborators (no funding received). 
• We welcome and encourage investigators from all career stages to apply, including early-career researchers. 
• Successful applicants will become full members of the Acceleration Consortium and will be expected to support adjudication of future funding applications. 
• Projects must be aligned with the domain of materials discovery and include a significant AI component. 
• Successful applicants will become full members of the Acceleration Consortium and will support adjudication of future awards, 

Please review the full grant guidelines for the requirements of the moonshot grants. 

How to apply 

All NOI must be submitted through the Accelerate grant webform  

Full proposal:  webform 

The masculine gender is used in this document as a neutral form and refers equally to women, men, and individuals of all gender identities