Fifteen of Europe’s finest minds, with inventions across diverse domains from healthcare to energy storage, will participate in the final award ceremony on July 9.
The European Patent Office (EPO) has unveiled its fifteen finalists for this year’s European Inventor Award and Young Inventors Prize. These include teams and individuals across more than 15 countries working hard to improve life on our planet and the earth itself.
The EPO is the European governing body that grants patents to new inventions and the European Inventor Award is a coveted symbol of innovation across technical fields in Europe and beyond.
These finalists and their inventions are taking on challenges that help build more sustainable societies and improve our daily lives, leading technological advancement across diverse domains including healthcare, energy storage, and manufacturing.
You can watch the final awards ceremony in the video player at the top of this article at midday CET on July 9.
The four main categories of the event include Industry, Research, Non-EPO Countries, and SMEs. From healthcare breakthroughs to eco-friendly manufacturing, the innovations of the contenders transcend boundaries, tackling pressing global issues head-on.
All the finalists of these 4 traditional categories of the European Inventor Award are eligible for the Popular Prize, which is awarded by public vote.
There is also the Young Inventors Prize, which celebrates inventors under 30 working towards sustainability solutions. Unlike the traditional award categories, the Young Inventors Prize finalists do not need a granted European patent to be considered for the award.
Prizes include monetary rewards up to 20,000 euros.
This year, the Lifetime Achievement award will be handed out to Carol Vivien Robinson for her innovative approach to mass spectrometry, which has transformed our understanding of proteins within their native environments and paved the way for advancements in drug discovery and personalised medicine.
Here are the EPO finalists and their projects:
Industry
Icelander Fertram Sigurjonsson and his team are nominated for developing a biotech-derived wound-healing product using fish skin.
Fiorenzo Dioni from Italy and Richard Oberle from Germany have been put forward for their advancements in aluminium casting technology that reduces carbon emissions in automotive manufacturing.
Ulf Landegren and Simon Fredriksson from Sweden are in the running for their work in molecular diagnostics enhancing disease detection and management.
Research
German Cordelia Schmid has been recognised for her AI solutions that enable advanced machine perception that closely mimics human visual interpretation.
Maltese duo Tonio Sant and Daniel Buhagiar and their team have been nominated for their sustainable offshore energy storage solution.
The French team led by David Devos and Caroline Moreau are on the shortlist for their innovative treatments for Parkinson’s disease that offer better management of the disease with fewer side effects.
Non-EPO Countries
A Brazilian team led by Fernando Catalano and Micael Carmo are nominated for their innovations that reduce noise and carbon emissions in air travel.
American-based David Fattal has been put forward for his advancements in display optics and software to create glasses-free 3D imaging.
ADVERTISEMENTMasato Sagawa from Japan is nominated for his contributions to developing superior permanent magnets used in various high-tech applications.
SMEs (Small and Medium-sized Enterprises)
Finnish inventors Sirpa Jalkanen and Markku Jalkanen have been shortlisted for their work on a targeted immunotherapy to treat cancer.
French inventors Bruno Mottet, Lydéric Bocquet and their team are up for the award for their osmotic power generation technology utilising nanostructured materials.
A Polish team led by Olga Malinkiewicz has been nominated for their innovative thin-film perovskite solar cell printing technology.
Young Inventors prize
Celebrating its third year, the Young Inventors Prize spotlights the ingenuity of individuals aged 30 and under whose technical innovations hold promise in advancing the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. This platform underscores the pivotal role of the youth in propelling global inventions forward.
ADVERTISEMENTContenders this year include:
The Turkish team of Khaoula Ben Ahmed, Ghofrane Ayari, Souleima Ben Temime and Sirine Ayari with MOOVOBRAIN, an all-in-one smart wheelchair-control solution that enables individuals with severe disabilities to navigate independently.
Ukrainian Valentyn Frechka with new-generation technology that addresses deforestation and carbon emissions by transforming leaves into eco-friendly paper.
And from the Netherlands, Rochelle Niemeijer , for devising a portable test kit to quickly diagnose bacterial infections, addressing the pressing issue of antimicrobial resistance.
Winners announced July 9
The European Inventor Award jury consists of inventors who are all former finalists. To judge proposals, the independent panel will draw on their wealth of technical, business, and intellectual property expertise.
ADVERTISEMENTIn 2024, the jury will be chaired by Wolfgang M. Heckl, Director General of the Deutsches Museum in Munich and holder of the Oskar von Miller chair for science communication at the Technical University also in Munich, where he researches molecular self-organisation in the nanotechnology field.
Other members of the jury include Catia Bastioli, Nuno Correia, Nuria Espallargas, Joachim Fiedler, Peter Holme Jensen, Marta Karczewicz, Ursula Keller, Agnès Poulbot, Erin Smith, Richard Turere, and Zhentian Wang.