Conventional hydropower systems span a range of sizes, from major infrastructure projects that demand dams, elevation drops and extensive engineering, to small micro hydro installations that normally rely on natural stream behaviour and often capture only a fraction of available energy. Emily Morris and Thorsten Stoesser contributed to an evolution in the field: distributed hydro, a modular canal based technology to produce reliable power without substantially altering waterways or undertaking major civil works.

As electric vehicle and energy storage deployment accelerates, the world faces a surge in demand for critical battery materials and a mounting waste challenge. Yu Haijun and Xie Yinghao developed a "reverse-positioning" technology that directly converts spent batteries into ultra-high-quality new cathode materials, enabling next-generation upgrades.

In southern Chile, firewood traditionally keeps homes warm during the cold winters, but it also fills the air with harmful smoke. Faced with a mounting public health crisis and increasingly strict heating regulations, long-time friends Aníbal Montalva Rodríguez​ and ​​Miguel Ángel Fernández Donoso developed a living biofilter that significantly reduces particulate emissions from combustion.

At the start of 2024, over 90 000 people in Council of Europe member states were awaiting organ transplants. Once removed from the body, organs rapidly begin to deteriorate due to a lack of oxygen, increasing the risk of failure. Franck Zal developed a breakthrough platform using haemoglobin derived from marine worms, extending organ viability and offering new hope to patients and surgeons alike.