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European Inventor Award

Winners of the European Inventor Award 2023

And the winner is…

EPO reveals the 2023 European Inventor Award and Young Inventors Prize winners
Meet the winners
EIA ceremony 2023: Moderator Filomena Cautela on stage and people in crowd watching

Ceremony recording now online

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Avelino Corma Canós

Lifetime Achievement laureate revealed

Spanish chemist shapes academia and industry for over 30 years
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Young Inventor Prize 2023

Meet the 2023 Young Inventors Prize finalists

Shaping tomorrow with solutions in education, water and wildlife conservation
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About the award

People with a passion for discovery drive innovation. Without their inquisitive minds and desire for new ideas, there would be no inventive spirit and no progress. The European Inventor Award pays tribute to inventors worldwide. It celebrates those who transform their ideas into technological progress, economic growth or improvements to our daily lives. Launched in 2006, the Award gives inventors the recognition they deserve and, like any good competition, it acts as an incentive for others.

European Inventor Awards

The finalists 2023

Industry

Michiel Dusselier, Bert Sels
Michiel Dusselier and Bert Sels
​​Michiel Dusselier and Bert Sels, professors at KU Leuven, developed a cheaper and more bio-friendly method to produce bioplastics that will contribute to a circular economy. ​

Non-EPO Countries

Kai Wu and team
​​Kai Wu and team​
Kai Wu and his team have pioneered a series of features to improve the safety and performance of Li-ion batteries, helping the shift to cleaner motoring.
Thomas Oxley, Nick Opie
​​Thomas Oxley and Nicholas Opie​
​​Thomas Oxley and Nicholas Opie invented the Stentrode, an implantable brain-computer interface (BCI) that enables patients living with paralysis to communicate through thought. ​
Varanasi, Smith
​​Kripa Varanasi, David Smith and team ​
​​Mechanical engineers Kripa Varanasi and David Smith led the team that has invented frictionless coatings that prevent viscous substances from sticking to their surfaces, maximising product use and eliminating waste.​

Research

Harald Haas
​​Harald Haas and team​
Together with his team, German professor Harald Haas invented LiFi – a mobile wireless technology that transmits data through light sources such as LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes) rather than radio frequencies.
Thorsteinn Loftsson and Einar Stefansson
​​Thorsteinn Loftsson and Einar Stefánsson​
Scientists Thorsteinn Loftsson and Einar Stefánsson have developed an eye drop that can deliver drugs to the back of the eye, replacing costly and invasive eye injections that are less accessible and require a medical professional to administer.

SMEs

Rhona Togher and Eimear O'Carrol
Rhona Togher, Eimear O'Carroll
Rhona Togher and Eimear O’Carroll are Irish physicists who have developed a composite material to reduce noise. The material is thin, lightweight and cost-effective, making it suitable for applications ranging from aerospace to automotive.
Antoine Hubert
​​Antoine Hubert and team​
​​Antoine Hubert is a French biochemist noted for his work in creating sustainable by-products from insects. He led the team which has developed a new method of farming insects to produce food for plants, animals, pets and eventually humans. ​
Luca Rossettini
​​Luca Rossettini​
​​Luca Rossettini, the founder of D-Orbit, has developed an autonomous system to safely remove old or broken satellites, commonly known as "space garbage," from Earth's orbit. ​

Lifetime Achievement

Avelino Corma Canós
Avelino Corma Canós
​​Avelino Corma Canós is a Spanish chemistry professor celebrated for his work developing zeolites for use in industries such as oil refining to improve efficiency and reduce by-product waste.

Young Inventors Prize

Richard Turere
Richard Turere​
​​Richard Turere developed Lion Lights, an automated system that deters lions from attacking livestock in enclosures. His invention prevents human-wildlife conflict and is helping to boost the lion population in Kenya.​
Filipa Rocha
​​Filipa de Sousa Rocha​
​​Filipa de Sousa Rocha is a computer engineer and researcher on a mission to make digital learning more accessible to visually impaired children. Her ground-breaking work uses tangible objects to teach digital literacy through play, bringing a smile to the faces of young learners as they pick up skills such as computer programming.​
Fionn Ferreira
​​Fionn Ferreira​
​​Twenty-two-year-old environmentalist Fionn Ferreira is tackling microplastics pollution with his magnet-based method, which extracts microplastics from water quickly, safely and without harm.​

Search for past finalists

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YIP

Young Inventors Prize

Aimed at innovators aged 30 and under, this prize rewards those using technology to contribute to the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals. A granted patent is not required, and all finalists receive a cash prize.

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Popular prize

Popular Prize

Unlike the traditional Award categories and Young Inventors prize, the Popular Prize is decided by a public vote. In 2023, Patricia de Rango, Daniel Fruchart, Albin Chaise, Michel Jehan, Nataliya Skryabina claimed the trophy for their work in a safe and sustainable way to store hydrogen.

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