The European Patent Office (EPO) has unveiled the 12 finalists for the 2024 European Inventor Award, spotlighting inventors leading technological advancement across domains including healthcare, energy storage, and manufacturing.
The finalists will be celebrated at a ceremony on July 9 in Malta.
The 2024 finalists
From healthcare breakthroughs to eco-friendly manufacturing, the innovations tackle pressing global issues. The work encompasses pioneering biotechnological treatments, sustainable energy solutions, and diagnostics.
The 2024 finalists come from France, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Malta, Poland, Sweden, Brazil, Japan and the US. Steering the selection process from more than 550 entries was Wolfgang M. Heckl, director general of the Deutsches Museum in Munich.
The finalists by category are:
Industry
Icelandic Fertram Sigurjonsson and his team for developing a biotech-derived wound healing product using fish skin.
Fiorenzo Dioni from Italy and Richard Oberle from Germany for their advancements in aluminium casting technology that reduces carbon emissions in automotive manufacturing.
Ulf Landegren and Simon Fredriksson from Sweden for their work in molecular diagnostics enhancing disease detection and management.
SMEs
Finnish inventors Sirpa Jalkanen and Markku Jalkanen for their work on a targeted immunotherapy to treat cancer.
French inventors Bruno Mottet, Lydéric Bocquet and their team for their osmotic power generation technology utilising nanostructured materials.
A Polish team led by Olga Malinkiewicz for their thin-film perovskite solar cell printing technology.
Research
German Cordelia Schmid, for her AI solutions that enable advanced machine perception that closely mimics human visual interpretation.
Maltese Tonio Sant and Daniel Buhagiar and their team for their sustainable offshore energy storage solution.
The French team led by David Devos and Caroline Moreau for their treatments for Parkinson’s disease that offer better management of the disease and fewer side effects.
Non-EPO countries
A Brazilian team led by Fernando Catalano and Micael Carmo for their innovations that reduce noise and carbon emissions in air travel.
American-based David Fattal for his advancements in display optics and software to create glasses-free 3D imaging.
Masato Sagawa from Japan for his contributions to developing superior permanent magnets used in various high-tech applications.
Lifetime Achievement, Popular Prize and Young Inventors Prize
The public can vote for their favourite invention among the 12 finalists for the Popular Prize.
Celebrating its third year, the Young Inventors Prize spotlights individuals aged 30 and under whose technical innovations hold promise in advancing the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.
The unveiling of the Lifetime Achievement category winner will precede the ceremony by two weeks.
Jim Cornall is editor of Deeptech Digest and publisher at Ayr Coastal Media. He is an award-winning writer, editor, photographer, broadcaster, designer and author. Contact Jim here.
