EUROPEAN INVENTOR AWARD 2023 – A FRENCH TEAM WINS TWICE

On July 4, 2023, the European Patent Office (EPO) announced in Valencia (Spain) the year’s winners of the prestigious “European Inventor Award”. This prize, designed to reward the creativity of inventors, has been awarded every year since 2006 to inventors in various categories: industry, research, non-EPO countries, small and medium-sized enterprises and lifetime achievement.

A French team wins two prizes this year in research category and in the popular prize category (determined by a public vote among the finalists). This team with Patricia de Rango, Daniel Fruchart, Albin Chaise, Michel Jehan and Nataliya Skryabina has developed “an atomic structure and a process enabling safer, more durable and more stable hydrogen storage”.

For the other categories, the winners for 2023 in each category are as follows (Source EPO) :

• Industry: Pia Bergström, Annika Malm, Jukka Myllyoja, Jukka-Pekka Pasanen and Blanka Toukoniitty (Finnish team) for the “transformation of waste into renewable fuel”;
• Non-EPO member countries: Kai Wu and his team (China) for “Li-ion batteries that reduce the risk of fire and explosion in the vehicles they equip”;
• Small and medium-size enterprises: Rhona Togher and Eimear O’Carroll (Irish physicists) for “a new material to reduce hearing damage caused by noise”;
• Lifetime achievement: Avelino Corma Canós (Spain) for his work on synthetic catalysts to improve chemical reactions.

For more information:

https://new.epo.org/en/news-events/press-centre/press-release/2023/740248

 

Applications for the 2024 edition of the “European Inventor Award” can be submitted until October 1, 2023 on the EPO website by following the link :

https://new.epo.org/en/news-events/european-inventor-award/nominations