Upgrading railways with magnetic propulsion: Polish inventor selected as finalists for the European Inventor Award 2026

• Their MagRail technology enables individual wagons to move independently at speeds of up to 160 km/h without a locomotive
• The inventor and team are finalists in the ‘SMEs’ category. The winners will be announced during the Award ceremony on 2 July 2026 in Berlin
• Public voting for the Popular Prize opens today and will be running until the ceremony on 2 July 2026

Munich, 12 May 2026 – Europe’s rail system faces growing pressure to transport goods more efficiently while reducing emissions. Yet according to the European Commission, EU rail freight transport performance measured in tonne-kilometres declined in 2024, prompting calls for major investment and modernisation of railway infrastructure.

Polish inventor Przemek Ben Paczek, together with Łukasz Mielczarek, Paweł Radziszewski, Katarzyna Foljanty and Tomasz Kublin, has developed MagRail, a magnetic propulsion system designed to upgrade existing railway lines rather than replace them. Their technology allows freight wagons to move independently using electromagnetic propulsion, increasing flexibility and capacity on conventional rail networks. For this work, the team has been selected as finalists in the ‘SMEs’ category of the European Inventor Award 2026 by an independent jury.

Magnetic propulsion on existing railways

Global rail networks often rely on long trainsets that carry huge loads but are difficult to schedule, slow to accelerate and costly to manage in busy terminals. Nevomo’s MagRail system addresses these challenges by adding new components to existing tracks and wagons that enable frictionless propulsion.

The system combines a passive “magnetic surfboard” installed beneath existing railway undercarriages, known as bogies, with a flat “third rail” placed between conventional rails. The third rail acts as a wave generator, creating a controlled electromagnetic field that enables propulsion and braking (with energy recuperation) without mechanical contact.

Nevomo’s Cargo MagRail Booster enables individual freight wagons or small wagon groups to move independently at speeds of up to 160 km/h, automatically coupling or uncoupling depending on demand. In industrial zones, ports and terminals, the system can automate shunting operations normally performed by diesel locomotives. On main lines, it can help heavy trains accelerate faster after yielding to passenger traffic or provide traction in tunnels where overhead wires cannot be installed.

“'Where are we going to place this infrastructure?' That’s when we decided to stop dreaming of new tubes and start upgrading the rails we already have,” said Przemek Ben Paczek.

From hyperloop research to retrofitted rail technology

The project originated in 2016 when students from the Warsaw University of Technology formed the Hyper Poland University Team to compete in an international hyperloop design competition. Their prototype reached the finals and was tested at SpaceX, leading the team to establish a spin-off company that later became Nevomo.

While the initial vision focused on vacuum-tube hyperloop transport, discussions with investors in 2017 highlighted the difficulty of building entirely new infrastructure. The team pivoted toward a solution that could integrate magnetic propulsion into existing railway systems, with a possible future further upgrade with levitation.

Early development included a 48-metre test track built in 2019, followed by further prototypes supported by public funding. In 2023, a two-tonne MagRail vehicle successfully levitated on a full-scale test track and reached speeds of 135 km/h during testing.

Nevomo launched its first commercial project in 2025 with Deendayal Port Authority in India, aiming to develop a fully automated freight-wagon transport system using existing railway infrastructure.

“Funding was the biggest challenge. When you have something completely different without benchmarks, it’s extremely difficult to convince people to put money into it,” said the Polish finalist.

Przemek Ben Paczek and team are among three finalists in the ‘SMEs’ category of the European Inventor Award 2026. The other ‘SMEs’ finalists are Czech engineer Jan Čmelík and team for their needle-free electrospinning technology to scale nanofibre production and French marine biologist Franck Zal for a universal oxygen carrier inspired by marine worms to preserve organs and tissues. The European Patent Office will announce the winners during a ceremony livestreamed (link to a streaming option) from Berlin on 2 July 2026. In addition to the four award categories, the Popular Prize will be decided through a combined vote by the public and the independent jury. Public voting opens on 12 May 2026 and will be running until the ceremony on 2 July 2026.

Find more information about the technology, its impact and the inventors here. 

Media contacts European Patent Office

Roberta Romano-Götsch
EPO spokesperson

EPO press desk
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Tel.: +49 89 2399-1833

About the European Inventor Award

The European Inventor Award is one of Europe's most prestigious innovation prizes. Launched by the EPO in 2006, the award honours individuals and teams, who have come up with solutions to some of the biggest challenges of our time. The European Inventor Award jury consists of inventors who are all former finalists. To judge proposals, the independent panel draws on their wealth of technical, business, and intellectual property expertise. All inventors must have been granted a European patent for their invention. Read more on the various categories, prizes, selection criteria and livestream ceremony to be held on 2 July in Berlin.

About the EPO

With 6,300 staff members, the European Patent Office (EPO) is one of the largest public service institutions in Europe. Headquartered in Munich with offices in Berlin, Brussels, The Hague and Vienna, the EPO was founded with the aim of strengthening co-operation on patents in Europe. Through the EPO's centralised patent granting procedure, inventors are able to obtain high-quality patent protection in up to 46 countries, covering a market of some 700 million people. The EPO is also the world's leading authority in patent information and patent searching.