The European Inventor Award(formerly European Inventor of the Year Award, renamed in 2010), are presented annually by the

European Patent Office The European Patent Office (EPO) is one of the two organs of the European Patent Organisation (EPOrg), the other being the Administrative Council. The EPO acts as executive body for the organisation

, sometimes supported by the respective

Presidency of the Council of the European Union The presidency of the Council of the European Union is responsible for the functioning of the Council of the European Union, which is the co-legislator of the EU legislature alongside the European Parliament. It rotates among the member state ...

and by the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body ...

, to inventors who have made a significant contribution to innovation, economy and society in Europe. Inventions from all technological fields are considered for this award. The winners in each category are presented with an award shaped like a sail. There is no cash prize associated with the award.

Award categories

The European Inventor Award is presented in the following five categories: *Industry *

Small and medium-sized enterprises Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) or small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are businesses whose personnel and revenue numbers fall below certain limits. The abbreviation "SME" is used by international organizations such as the World Bank ...

(SMEs) *Research *Non-European countries *Lifetime achievement Since 2013, the public is invited to vote to select the winner of a ''Popular Prize'' from among the finalists.

Nomination and selection

Each year the European Patent Office calls on its patent examiners, on examiners at the patent offices in the EPO's member states and on public at large to propose inventions for the award that were patented at the European Patent Office and have made a significant contribution towards innovation, economy and society in Europe. A short list of nominees is then drawn up from the proposals and submitted to an international jury. The independent jury selects three inventors in each category for the final round, and eventually chooses the winners.

Awards per year

2006

The first European Inventor of the Year awards took place at the AutoWorld Museum in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

on 3 May 2006. Prizes were presented in six categories. The 2006 winners were: *Industry: ''Zbigniew Janowicz'' and ''Cornelis Hollenberg'', who invented a method for making

protein Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, res ...

s in Pichia (Hansenula)

yeast Yeasts are eukaryotic, single-celled microorganisms classified as members of the fungus kingdom. The first yeast originated hundreds of millions of years ago, and at least 1,500 species are currently recognized. They are estimated to constit ...

*SMEs: '' Stephen P.A. Fodor'', ''Michael C. Pirrung'', ''J. Leighton Read'', and ''

Lubert Stryer Lubert Stryer (born March 2, 1938, in Tianjin, China) is the Emeritus Mrs. George A. Winzer Professor of Cell Biology, at Stanford University School of Medicine. His research over more than four decades has been centered on the interplay of light ...

'' who invented the DNA microarray (DNA chip) *Research: ''

Peter Grünberg Peter Andreas Grünberg (; 18 May 1939 – 7 April 2018) was a German physicist, and Nobel Prize in Physics laureate for his discovery with Albert Fert of giant magnetoresistance which brought about a breakthrough in gigabyte hard disk d ...

'' for his discovery of the giant magnetoresistance (GMR) effect *New EU member states: ''John Starrett'', ''Joanne Bronson'', ''John Martin'', ''Muzammil Mansuri'', and ''David Tortolani'', for their prodrugs of phosphonates *Non-European countries: ''Larry Gold'' and ''Craig Tuerk'', who discovered that nucleic acids can bind a protein to potentially intercept other proteins that cause diseases like age-related macular degeneration (AMD) *Lifetime Achievement: ''

Federico Faggin Federico Faggin (, ; born 1 December 1941) is an Italian physicist, engineer, inventor and entrepreneur. He is best known for designing the first commercial microprocessor, the Intel 4004. He led the 4004 (MCS-4) project and the design group d ...

'', for inventing the

microprocessor A microprocessor is a computer processor where the data processing logic and control is included on a single integrated circuit, or a small number of integrated circuits. The microprocessor contains the arithmetic, logic, and control circ ...

2007

The second European Inventor of the Year awards took place at the International Congress Center in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

, Germany on 18 April 2007. Prizes were presented to inventors - individuals and teams - in four categories. The 2007 winners were: *Industry: ''Franz Lärmer'' and ''Andrea Urban'', Bosch GmbH (Germany), for their Bosch process for

microfabrication Microfabrication is the process of fabricating miniature structures of micrometre scales and smaller. Historically, the earliest microfabrication processes were used for integrated circuit fabrication, also known as "semiconductor manufacturing" ...

*SMEs/Research: '' Catia Bastioli'' and her team at Novamont S.p.A. (Italy), for inventing biodegradable plastics made from starch *Non-European countries: ''Joseph P. Vacca'' and the team at Merck Research Laboratories (USA), for Crixivan, a protease inhibitor *Lifetime Achievement: '' Marc Feldmann'', Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology (United Kingdom), for identifying the role of

cytokine Cytokines are a broad and loose category of small proteins (~5–25 kDa) important in cell signaling. Cytokines are peptides and cannot cross the lipid bilayer of cells to enter the cytoplasm. Cytokines have been shown to be involved in autocrin ...

s in treating autoimmune diseases

2008

The third European Inventor of the Year awards took place in Ljubljana on 6 May 2008, marking Slovenia's presidency of the EU Council in the first half of 2008. Prizes were presented to inventors - individuals and teams - in four categories. The 2008 winners were: *Industry: ''Norbert Enning'', ''Ulrich Klages'', ''Heinrich Timm'', ''Gundolf Kreis'', ''Alois Feldschmid'', ''Christian Dornberg'' and ''Karl Reiter'',

Audi Audi AG () is a German automotive manufacturer of luxury vehicles headquartered in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany. As a subsidiary of its parent company, the Volkswagen Group, Audi produces vehicles in nine production facilities worldwide. Th ...

(Germany) for revolutionising automotive manufacturing by making car frames lighter and safer through the use of aluminium. *SMEs/Research: ''Douglas Anderson'', ''Robert Henderson'', and ''Roger Lucas'' of Scotland's SME Optos (United Kingdom) for developing a new

laser A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The word "laser" is an acronym for "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation". The fi ...

scanning technology for the eye which allows powerful but pain-free examination of the

retina The retina (from la, rete "net") is the innermost, light-sensitive layer of tissue of the eye of most vertebrates and some molluscs. The optics of the eye create a focused two-dimensional image of the visual world on the retina, which then ...

. *Non-European countries: ''Philip S. Green'',

SRI International SRI International (SRI) is an American nonprofit scientific research institute and organization headquartered in Menlo Park, California. The trustees of Stanford University established SRI in 1946 as a center of innovation to support economic ...

(USA) for developing a robotic surgical system that has helped to improve surgery in Europe by allowing surgeons to perform complex procedures with the highest precision. *Lifetime Achievement: '' Erik De Clercq'', University of Leuven (Belgium) for landmark contributions to antiviral treatment, including developing the drug cocktail for

HIV/AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ...

which has become the therapy gold standard of the early 21st century.

2009

The European Inventor of the Year ceremony 2009 took place at Prague Castle in the Czech Republic on 28 April 2009. The 2009 winners were: *Industry: ''Jürg Zimmermann'' (Switzerland) and '' Brian Drucker'' (USA) for inventing an effective drug to combat chronic myelogenous leukaemia. *SMEs/Research: ''Joseph Le Mer'' (France) for inventing a

heat exchanger A heat exchanger is a system used to transfer heat between a source and a working fluid. Heat exchangers are used in both cooling and heating processes. The fluids may be separated by a solid wall to prevent mixing or they may be in direct conta ...

of such a brilliantly simple design that it makes heating systems both inexpensive and energy-efficient. *Non-European countries: ''

Zhou Yiqing Zhou Yiqing (born 1929) is a professor of medicine at the Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology of the People's Liberation Army Academy of Military Medical Sciences. He was one of the scientists who participated in the Project 523 of the Chi ...

'' and his team (China) for an anti-

malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. S ...

drug based on a herbal agent, which has been instrumental in saving hundreds of thousands of lives. *Lifetime Achievement: '' Adolf Goetzberger'' (Germany) for his work on the commercial use of solar energy, helping to make

solar cell A solar cell, or photovoltaic cell, is an electronic device that converts the energy of light directly into electricity by the photovoltaic effect, which is a physical and chemical phenomenon.

s a viable alternative to fossil fuels.

2010

Renamed the European Inventor Award, the 2010 awards ceremony took place in Madrid, Spain on 28 April 2010. The ceremony at the Eurostars Tower Hotel was attended by Their Royal Highnesses Prince Felipe and Princess Letizia of Asturias. The 2010 winners were: *SMEs/Research: ''Jürgen Pfitzer'' and ''Helmut Nägele'' (Germany), who made a breakthrough by developing an easily formable, biodegradable organic

polymer A polymer (; Greek '' poly-'', "many" + ''-mer'', "part") is a substance or material consisting of very large molecules called macromolecules, composed of many repeating subunits. Due to their broad spectrum of properties, both synthetic a ...

. *Industry: ''Albert Markendorf'' (Switzerland) and ''Raimund Loser'' (Germany), whose portable 3D scanning and measuring system opened up a new level of accuracy in industrial measuring systems and revolutionised the field. *Non-European countries: '' Sanjai Kohli'' and ''Steven Chen'' (USA), whose work paved the way for

global positioning system The Global Positioning System (GPS), originally Navstar GPS, is a satellite-based radionavigation system owned by the United States government and operated by the United States Space Force. It is one of the global navigation satellite sy ...

s (GPS) that became used commercially and are a part of our everyday lives (joint winners). *Non-European countries: ''Ben Wiens'' and ''Danny Epps'' (Canada), who developed electrochemical fuel cells which are now a commercially successful alternative to fossil fuels (joint winners). *Lifetime Achievement: '' Wolfgang Krätschmer'' (Germany), who discovered a whole new field of research in physics.

2011

The 2011 award ceremony took place at the historic Hungarian Academy of Sciences in

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

. The 2011 winners were: *Lifetime Achievement: ''

Per-Ingvar Brånemark Per-Ingvar Brånemark (May 3, 1929 – December 20, 2014) was a Swedish physician and research professor, acknowledged as the "father of modern dental implantology". The ''Brånemark Osseointegration Center'' (BOC), named after its founder, was ...

'' (Sweden). He is the pioneer of osseointegration, now a widely practised medical method based on titanium implants, which creates a stable connection between the implant and bone. Today it is a standard implant technique among dentists and is widely used in reconstructive surgery. Millions of people worldwide have benefited from his landmark method. *Industry: ''Ann Lambrechts'',

Bekaert N.V. Bekaert S.A. (Euronext Brussels: BEKB) is a global company with headquarters in Belgium, employing 28,000 people worldwide. Its primary business is steel wire transformation and coatings. Operating in 45 countries, Bekaert generated combined ...

(Belgium). Her invention opened up a world of new architectural possibilities by improving the bending strength of reinforced concrete structures. The steel fibre elements that she developed greatly increase the tensile strength of concrete, reduce construction time, and have enabled many spectacular new structures such as the Gotthard tunnel. *SMEs: '' Jens Dall Bentzen'', Dall Energy Aps (Denmark). His special low-emission furnace burns biofuels with a moisture content of up to 60% and is thus ideal for eco-friendly, highly efficient and hence inexpensive power generation from biomass in factories and production plants. *Research: '' Christine Van Broeckhoven'', Vlaams Interuniversitair Instituut voor Biotechnologie (Belgium). Her pioneering method for identifying disease genes in Alzheimer's sufferers paved the way for developing modern drugs and treatments to combat Alzheimer's disease. Each of the genes and proteins that Broeckhoven has identified acts as potential "target" for researchers working to develop treatments for neurodegenerative diseases. *Non-European countries: '' Ashok Gadgil'', ''Vikas Garud'',

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Franci ...

, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, WaterHealth International (USA/India). Using gravity and a carefully planned hydraulics design to ensure even water flow, their

ultraviolet Ultraviolet (UV) is a form of electromagnetic radiation with wavelength from 10 nm (with a corresponding frequency around 30 PHz) to 400 nm (750 THz), shorter than that of visible light, but longer than X-rays. UV radiation ...

(UV) disinfection device requires only a 40 watt UV light bulb to disinfect 1,000 litres of water per hour. The

water purification Water purification is the process of removing undesirable chemicals, biological contaminants, suspended solids, and gases from water. The goal is to produce water that is fit for specific purposes. Most water is purified and disinfected for hu ...

device has been installed in more than ten countries worldwide, delivering clean water to over two million people.

2012

The 2012 award ceremony was held in Copenhagen at the Royal Danish Playhouse in the presence of Their Royal Highnesses Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary of Denmark. The 2012 winners were: *Industry: ''Jan Tøpholm'', ''Søren Westermann'', and ''Svend Vitting Andersen'' (Denmark), for their tailor-made hearing aid. *Research: ''Gilles Gosselin'', ''Jean-Louis Imbach'', and ''Martin L. Bryant'' (France), for their new drug for hepatitis B treatment. *SMEs: ''Manfred Stefener'', ''Oliver Freitag'', and ''Jens Müller'' (Germany), for their portable direct methanol fuel cell. *Lifetime Achievement: '' Josef Bille'' (Germany), for his device for laser eye surgery. *Non-European countries: '' John O' Sullivan'', ''Graham Daniels'', ''Terence Percival'', ''Diethelm Ostry'', and ''John Deane'' (Australia), for their contribution to wireless

local area network A local area network (LAN) is a computer network that interconnects computers within a limited area such as a residence, school, laboratory, university campus or office building. By contrast, a wide area network (WAN) not only covers a larger ...

s (LAN) for high speed data transfer (

Wi-Fi Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols, based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by radio wav ...

2013

The 2013 award ceremony was held in Amsterdam at Beurs van Berlage in the presence of Her Royal Highness Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands. The 2013 winners were: The 2013 winners were: * Industry: ''Claus Hämmerle'' and ''Klaus Brüstle'' (Austria) from Austrian manufacturer Julius Blum for inventing a

damper A damper is a device that deadens, restrains, or depresses. It may refer to: Music * Damper pedal, a device that mutes musical tones, particularly in stringed instruments * A mute for various brass instruments Structure * Damper (flow), a mechan ...

system for soft closing of furniture doors, drawers, and wall cabinets named Blumotion. * Research: '' Patrick Couvreur'', ''Barbara Stella'', ''Véronique Rosilio'', ''Luigi Cattel'' (France, Italy) for inventing nanocapsules which destroy cancer cells without harming healthy tissue. * SMEs: ''

Pål Nyrén Pål Nyrén (born 1955) is a biochemistry professor at the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Stockholm. He is most famous for developing the pyrosequencing method for DNA sequencing. Career *1999 Professor in Biochemistry, KTH, Stockholm *1997 ...

'' (Sweden) for inventing pyrosequencing, a far faster, simpler, and cheaper method to sequence DNA strands. * Lifetime Achievement: '' Martin Schadt'' (Switzerland), inventor of the world's first flat-panel liquid crystal display (LCD). * Non-European countries: '' Ajay V. Bhatt'', ''Bala Sudarshan Cadambi'', ''Jeff Morriss'', ''Shaun Knoll'', ''Shelagh Callahan'' (USA), for creating and developing

Universal Serial Bus Universal Serial Bus (USB) is an industry standard that establishes specifications for cables, connectors and protocols for connection, communication and power supply (interfacing) between computers, peripherals and other computers. A broad ...

(USB) technology. For the first time, the public was invited to vote to select the winner of a ''Popular Prize'' from among the 15 finalists. The winner in this category is José Luis López Gómez (Spain) from Patentes Talgo, whose invention to use a unique ‘independent guided' wheel design rather than a standard axle on high-speed passenger trains makes those trains some of the most comfortable and safe in the industry.

2014

The 2014 award ceremony was held in Berlin at Deutsche Telekom's Berlin Representative Office (Former Kaiserliches Telegrafenamt) on 17 June. The 2014 winners were: * Industry: ''

Koen Andries Koen Andries is a Belgian Janssen Pharmaceutica scientist and professor at the University of Antwerp. In 2005 he and his team published a discovery about a new di-Aryl- Quinoline-based drug ( R207910), now called bedaquiline, which promises a ...

'' (BE), ''Jérôme Guillemont'' (FR), ''Imre Csoka'' (FR), ''Laurence F.F. Marconnet-Decrane'' (FR), ''Frank C. Odds'' (UK), ''Jozef F.E. Van Gestel'' (BE), ''Marc Venet'' (FR), ''Daniel Vernier'' (FR) for their invention: the drug against multi-resistant tuberculosis * Research: '' Christofer Toumazou'' (UK) for his microchip for quick DNA testing * SMEs: ''Peter Holme Jensen'', ''Claus Hélix-Nielsen'', ''Danielle Keller'' (DK) for their energy-efficient

* Lifetime Achievement: ''

Artur Fischer Artur Fischer (31 December 1919 – 27 January 2016) was a German inventor. He is best known for inventing the plastic expanding wall plug. Born in Tumlingen, Artur Fischer was the son of the village tailor Georg Fischer. His mother Pauline, ...

'' (DE) for his wall plug, synchronised flash, and many more. * Non-European countries: '' Charles W. Hull'' (US) for inventing

3D printing 3D printing or additive manufacturing is the construction of a three-dimensional object from a CAD model or a digital 3D model. It can be done in a variety of processes in which material is deposited, joined or solidified under computer co ...

(stereolithography) * Popular Prize Winner: ''Masahiro Hara'', ''Takayuki Nagaya'', ''Motoaki Watabe'', ''Tadao Nojiri'', ''Yuji Uchiyama'' (JP) for developing the

QR code A QR code (an initialism for quick response code) is a type of matrix barcode (or two-dimensional barcode) invented in 1994 by the Japanese company Denso Wave. A barcode is a machine-readable optical label that can contain information about th ...

2015

The 2015 award ceremony was held in Paris at Palais Brongniart (La Bourse) on 11 June. The 2015 winners were: * Industry: ''Franz Amtmann'' (AT), et al., and ''Philippe Maugars'' (FR), et al., who invented

near field communication Near-field communication (NFC) is a set of communication protocols that enables communication between two electronic devices over a distance of 4 cm (1 in) or less. NFC offers a low-speed connection through a simple setup that can be u ...

(NFC) technology * Research: '' Ludwik Leibler'' (FR) for his

vitrimers Vitrimers are a class of plastics, which are derived from thermosetting polymers (thermosets) and are very similar to them. Vitrimers consist of molecular, covalent networks, which can change their topology by thermally activated bond-exchange reac ...

– a new class of

s * SMEs: '' Laura J. van 't Veer'', et al. (NL) for their gene-based breast cancer test * Lifetime Achievement: ''Andreas Manz'' (CH) for his microchip-sized analysis system * Non-European countries: ''

Sumio Iijima is a Japanese physicist and inventor, often cited as the inventor of carbon nanotubes. Although carbon nanotubes had been observed prior to his "invention", Iijima's 1991 paper generated unprecedented interest in the carbon nanostructures and ...

'', ''Akira Koshio'', and ''Masako Yudasaka'' (JP) for inventing carbon nanotubes * Popular Prize Winner: ''

Ian Frazer Ian Hector Frazer (born 6 January 1953) is a Scottish-born Australian immunologist, the founding CEO and Director of Research of the Translational Research Institute (Australia). Frazer and Jian Zhou developed and patented the basic technolo ...

'' (AUS),

Jian Zhou Jian Zhou (; 1957 – March 1999) was a Chinese virologist and cancer researcher, who with fellow researcher Ian Frazer, invented Gardasil and Cervarix, the vaccines for stimulating human immunological resistance to the cervical cancer-induci ...

† (CN) who developed the HPV vaccine

2016

The 2016 award ceremony was held in Lisbon on 9 June. The 2016 winners were: * Industry: ''Bernhard Gleich'', ''Jürgen Weizenecker'', and their team (DE) for inventing

magnetic particle imaging Magnetic particle imaging (MPI) is an emerging non-invasive tomographic technique that directly detects superparamagnetic nanoparticle tracers. The technology has potential applications in diagnostic imaging and material science. Currently, it i ...

(MPI) * Research: '' Alim-Louis Benabid'' (FR) for his work on a treatment for Parkinson's disease * SMEs: ''Tue Johannessen'', ''Ulrich Quaade'', ''Claus Hviid Christensen'', ''Jens Kehlet Nørskov'' (Denmark) for their ammonia storage to reduce nitrogen oxides ( NOx) * Lifetime Achievement: ''Anton van Zanten'' (DE, NL) for his electronic stability control system * Non-European countries: '' Robert Langer'' (US) for his work on targeted anti-cancer drugs * Popular Prize Winner: '' Helen Lee'' (UK, FR) for inventing diagnostic kits for resource-poor regions of the globe.

2017

The 2017 award ceremony was held in Venice on 15 June. The 2017 winners were: * Industry: Jan van den Boogaart and Oliver Hayden (Netherlands/Austria) for inventing a rapid blood test for malaria * Research: Laurent Lestarquit, José Ángel Ávila Rodríguez, Günter W. Hein, Jean-Luc Issler and Lionel Ries (France, Spain, Germany, Belgium) for inventing radio signals for better satellite navigation ( Galileo (satellite navigation)) * SMEs: Günter Hufschmid (Germany) for his supersponge for oil spills * Lifetime Achievement:

Rino Rappuoli Rino Rappuoli is head of vaccine research and development (R&D) at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Vaccines. Previously, he has served as visiting scientist at Rockefeller University and Harvard Medical School and held roles at Sclavo, Vaccine Research and C ...

(Italy) for his next-generation vaccines against meningitis, whooping cough and other infections * Non-EPO countries: James G. Fujimoto, Eric A. Swanson and Robert Huber (USA, Germany) for their work on medical imaging with optical coherence tomography (OCT) * Popular Prize Winner: '' Adnane Remmal'' (Morocco) for boosting antibiotics with essential oils

2018

The 2018 award ceremony was held in

Saint-Germain-en-Laye Saint-Germain-en-Laye () is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France in north-central France. It is located in the western suburbs of Paris, from the centre of Paris. Inhabitants are called ''Saint-Germanois'' or ''Saint-Ge ...

, Paris, on 7 June. The 2018 winners were: * Industry: Agnès Poulbot and Jacques Barraud† (France) for inventing an auto-regenerating tyre tread * Research: Jens Frahm (Germany) for inventing faster, real-time MRI * SMEs: Jane ní Dhulchaointigh (Ireland) for inventing Sugru, the multi-purpose mouldable glue * Lifetime Achievement:

Ursula Keller Ursula Keller (born 21 June 1959) is a Swiss physicist. She has been a physics professor at the ETH Zurich, Switzerland since 2003 with a speciality in ultra-fast laser technology, an inventor and the winner of the 2018 European Inventor Award by ...

(Switzerland) for inventing ultrafast pulsed lasers * Non-EPO countries: Esther Sans Takeuchi (US) for inventing batteries to reset the heart * Popular Prize Winner: Erik Loopstra and Vadim Banine (The Netherlands/Russia) for inventing extreme ultraviolet lithography

2019

The 2019 award ceremony was held in Vienna, Austria, on 20 June. The 2019 winners were: * Industry: Klaus Feichtinger and Manfred Hackl (Austria) for inventing higher-performance

plastic recycling Plastic recycling is the reprocessing of plastic waste into new products. When performed correctly, this can reduce dependence on landfill, conserve resources and protect the environment from plastic pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. A ...

* Research: Jérôme Galon (France) for inventing Immunoscore®, a clearer cancer test * SMEs: Rik Breur (the Netherlands) for his marine antifouling fibre wrap * Lifetime Achievement: Margarita Salas Falgueras (Spain) for inventing DNA amplification for genomics * Non-EPO countries:

Akira Yoshino is a Japanese chemist. He is a fellow of Asahi Kasei Corporation and a professor at Meijo University in Nagoya. He created the first safe, production-viable lithium-ion battery which became used widely in cellular phones and notebook computer ...

(Japan) for inventing the lithium-ion battery and its evolution * Popular Prize Winner: Margarita Salas Falgueras (Spain) for inventing DNA amplification for genomics

2020

The 2020 award was deferred to the following year due to the pandemic.

2021

The 2021 award ceremony was held digitally on 17 June. The 2021 winners were: * Industry: Per Gisle Djupesland (Norway) for inventing a device for better nasal drug delivery * Research: Robert N. Grass and Wendelin Stark (Austria/Switzerland) for their DNA-based data storage * SMEs: Henrik Lindström and Giovanni Fili (Sweden) for inventing flexible solar cells for portable devices * Lifetime Achievement: Karl Leo (Germany) for his lifetime work in organic semiconductors * Non-EPO countries: Sumita Mitra (India/USA) for restoring smiles with nanomaterials * Popular Prize Winner:

Gordana Vunjak-Novakovic Gordana Vunjak-Novakovic ( sr-cyr, Гордана Вуњак Новаковић) is a Serbian American biomedical engineer and university professor. She is a University Professor at Columbia University, as well as the Mikati Foundation Professor o ...

(Serbia/USA) who dedicated her career to advances in tissue engineering

2022

The 2022 award ceremony was held digitally on 21 June. The 2022 winners were: * Industry: Jaan Leis, Mati Arulepp, and Anti Perkson (Estonia) for inventing a revolutionary no-waste car body paint system * Research: Elena García Armada (Spain) for the world’s first adaptable robotic exoskeleton for children * SMEs: Madiha Derouazi (Switzerland), Elodie Belnoue (France) and their team for inventing a therapeutic vaccine platform to treat cancer * Lifetime Achievement: Katalin Karikó (Hungary/USA) for her lifetime work on modified mRNA for lifesaving vaccines and therapies * Non-EPO countries: Donald Sadoway (Canada/USA) for inventing liquid metal batteries for storing renewable energy * Popular Prize winner: Elena García Armada (Spain) for the world’s first adaptable robotic exoskeleton for children

Juries

For the 2006 awards, the jury was: * Wim Kok, former Prime Minister, the Netherlands (chairman) *Gilles Capart, Chairman of PROTON Europe, Belgium *Dimitri F. Dimitriou, CEO of DyoDelta Biosciences, United Kingdom * Leif Edvinsson, Director of Intellectual Capital at Skandia, Sweden *Robert Peugeot, Executive Vice President at PSA Peugeot-Citroën, France *Maive Rute, SME Envoy for the European Commission, Estonia * Paul Rübig, founding member of the SME Union, Austria The jury in 2007–2008 was: * Nani Beccalli-Falco, President and CEO of GE International in Brussels, Belgium *Franjo Bobinac, President of the Management Board and CEO of Gorenje gospondinjski aparati in Velenje, Slovenia *Kastitis Gecas, Director of the Lithuanian Innovation Centre in Vilnius, Lithuania * N. R. Narayana Murthy, Chairman and Chief Mentor at Infosys Technologies Limited in Bangalore, India *Ruud Peters, Executive Vice President and CEO of Philips International in Eindhoven, The Netherlands *Edoardo Tusacciu, President of PlastWood s.r.l in Calangianus, Italy *Eugene van As, Chairman at Sappi Limited in Johannesburg, South Africa *Carmen Vela Olmo, Managing Director of INGENASA in Madrid, Spain *Wang Zhibiao, President of the Chongqing Haifu Technology Co., Ltd in Chongqing, China The jury in 2009–2010 was: *Jürgen Dormann, Chairman of the board at Metall Zug AG *Zbyněk Frolík, Managing Director of LINET spol. s r.o. *Bowman Heiden, Operations Director for the Qatar Science & Technology Park *Jonathan Liebenau, Reader in Technology Management at the London School of Economics *Emma Marcegaglia, Managing Director of Marcegaglia S.p.A. *Olivier Tardy, Senior Partner and Managing Director at the Boston Consulting Group in Paris * Sylvester Vizi, former President of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences * Ernst-Ludwig Winnacker, Secretary General of the European Research Council The jury in 2011 was: * Jerzy Buzek, President of the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...

*Wolfgang Heckl, Director General of the Deutsches Museum *Bowman Heiden, Innovation Director for the Qatar Science & Technology Park *Emma Marcegaglia, Managing Director of Marcegaglia S.p.A. and President of Confindustria * Ernő Rubik, architect, designer, university professor and inventor of the Rubik's Cube * Margarita Salas, President of Royal Board of the Biblioteca Nacional de España (National Library of Spain) and the Institute of Predictive and Personalized Medicine of Cancer *Thierry Sueur, Vice President of Intellectual Property and of European and International Affairs at Air Liquide The jury in 2012 was: * Jerzy Buzek, President of the

*Wolfgang Heckl, Director General of the Deutsches Museum *Emma Marcegaglia, Managing Director of Marcegaglia S.p.A. and President of Confindustria *Peter Marsh, manufacturing editor at the

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Ni ...

*Agnete Raaschou-Nielsen, A PhD in economics and senior manager with companies such as Aalborg Portland, Coca-Cola and Carlsberg * Ernő Rubik, architect, designer, university professor and inventor of the Rubik's Cube *Margarita Salas, President of Royal Board of the Biblioteca Nacional de España (National Library of Spain) and the Institute of Predictive and Personalized Medicine of Cancer *Thierry Sueur, Vice President of Intellectual Property and of European and International Affairs at Air Liquide The 2013 jury was: * Jens Dall Bentzen, biomass scientist, owner of Denmark-based Dall Energy Aps *Wolfgang Heckl, Director General of the Deutsches Museum and professor of scientific communication at the School of Education at the Munich University of Technology *Ann Lambrechts, Head of R&D for Building Products at NV Bekaert (Belgium). *Peter Marsh, manufacturing editor at the

Mario Moretti Polegato Mario Moretti Polegato (born 16 August 1952 in Crocetta del Montello, Italy) is an Italian entrepreneur, active in the footwear sector, who founded the company Geox of which he is the president. According to Forbes magazine, in 2014 he ranks ...

, inventor of the Geox shoe * Blanka Říhová, professor, researcher in the field of anti-cancer drug development. * Ernő Rubik, architect, designer, university professor and inventor of the Rubik's Cube *

Martin Schulz Martin Schulz (born 20 December 1955) is a German politician who served as Leader of the Social Democratic Party from 2017 to 2018, and was a Member of the Bundestag (MdB) from 2017 to 2021. Previously he was President of the European Parliam ...

, President of the

and leader of the

Party of European Socialists The Party of European Socialists (PES) is a social democratic and progressive European political party. The PES comprises national-level political parties from all member states of the European Union (EU) plus Norway and the United Kingdom. ...

(PES). *Thierry Sueur, Vice President of Intellectual Property and of European and International Affairs at Air Liquide The 2014 jury was: *Gerhard Cromme, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Siemens AG and member of the Supervisory Board of Axel Springer AG. *Wolfgang M. Heckl, Director General of the Deutsches Museum in Munich * Mandy Haberman, British inventor and entrepreneur whose inventions include the Haberman® Feeder, used in hospitals throughout the world for over 30 years, and the Anywayup® cup, which since its launch in 1996 has revolutionised the nursery market with its non-spill technology * Patrick Couvreur, Winner of the European Inventor Award 2013 and prolific researcher and innovator *Aino Heikkinen-Mustonen, engineer, inventor and Managing Director of Fatec Ltd *

, Chairman of the Italian Geox Group * Ernö Rubik, architect, designer, university professor and inventor of several mechanical puzzles, including the Rubik's Cube *Tony Tangena, president of the epi The 2015 jury was: * Louis Schweitzer – Chair, General Commissioner for Investment (appointed by the French President), Chairman of France's Foreign Affairs Council and special representative of the French Foreign Minister for Japan *Gerhard Cromme, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Siemens AG and member of the Supervisory Board of Axel Springer AG. *Ayşe Odman Boztosun, member of the Akdeniz University Faculty of Law in Antalya, Turkey. She serves as the Head of the Private Law Section and also as the Executive Director of the University Technology Transfer Office. * Clara Gaymard, CEO and President of GE France since 2006. In January 2013, she was elected president of the American Chamber of Commerce in France (AmCham France), becoming the first female president of this organisation in its hundred-year history * Mandy Haberman, British inventor and entrepreneur whose inventions include the Haberman® Feeder, used in hospitals throughout the world for over 30 years, and the Anywayup® cup, which since its launch in 1996 has revolutionised the nursery market with its non-spill technology *Anna Haupt, developer of the "invisible" bike helmet together with Terese Alstin. They began their quest for the "helmet of the future" as industrial design students at Lund University, Sweden. *Wolfgang M. Heckl, Director General of the Deutsches Museum in Munich * Ingeborg Hochmair, CEO, CTO and co-founder of MED-EL Medical Electronics Corporation, which she founded together with her husband Dr Erwin Hochmair in 1990. Together, they developed the very first microelectronic multichannel cochlear implant *Tian Lipu, Commissioner of China's State Intellectual Property Office from 2005 to 2014 and Member of the 17th CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection. *Mario Moretti Polegato, Chairman of the Italian Geox Group * Ernö Rubik, architect, designer, university professor and inventor of several mechanical puzzles, including the Rubik's Cube *Tony Tangena, president of the epi * Christine Van Broeckhoven, best known for her pioneering research into neurodegenerative dementias, where she has made several seminal contributions The 2016 jury was: *José Luís Arnaut, who served as Portuguese Deputy Prime Minister between 2002 and 2004. * António Campinos, Executive Director of the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) since 2010. *Mandy Haberman, British inventor and entrepreneur whose inventions include the Haberman® Feeder, used in hospitals throughout the world for over 30 years, and the Anywayup® cup, which since its launch in 1996 has revolutionised the nursery market with its non-spill technology *Wolfgang M. Heckl, Director General of the Deutsches Museum in Munich *Ingeborg Hochmair, past European Inventor Award finalist and CEO, CTO and co-founder of MED-EL Medical Electronics Corporation, which she founded together with her husband Dr Erwin Hochmair in 1990. Together, they developed the very first microelectronic multichannel cochlear implant. *Richard L. Hudson, a leading science and technology journalist in Europe for more than 30 years. He is CEO and Editor of ScienceIBusiness, a media company dedicated to European innovation strategy. * Ivars Kalvins, Chairman of the Scientific Board of the Latvian Institute of Organic Synthesis and past European Inventor Award finalist. With nearly 260 inventions and over 900 patents and patent applications, he is one of the world's most prolific scientists and inventors in the field of medicinal chemistry, having developed a new generation of drugs mimicking natural compounds for targeted treatment and prevention of heart disease, stroke, Alzheimer's and cancer. *Mario Moretti Polegato, Chairman of the Italian Geox Group * Ernö Rubik, is an architect, designer, university professor and inventor of several mechanical puzzles, including the Rubik's Cube. * Laura van ’t Veer, co-founder and Chief Research Officer of Agendia, a company offering molecular cancer diagnostics. She won the European Inventor Award 2015 in the SMEs category * Cecilia Wikström, member of the European Parliament, representing the Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe, since 2009. The 2017 jury was: * Eleni Antoniadou, President of the European Health Parliament in Brussels and multidisciplinary researcher in regenerative medicine, artificial organ bioengineering and space medicine. *José Luís Arnaut, who served as Portuguese Deputy Prime Minister between 2002 and 2004. * António Campinos, Executive Director of the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) since 2010. *Virna Cerne, finalist in the European Inventor Award 2016 in the Industry category and director of the Research & Development Centre and a member of the Executive Board at the Dr Schär group in Triest, Italy. *Tore Curstedt, finalist in the European Inventor Award 2016 in the Lifetime Achievement category and one of the world's foremost experts in surfactant research *Dora Groó is responsible for international affairs at the Institute of Fisheries and Aquaculture of Hungary's National Agricultural Research and Innovation Centre, and President of the Association of Hungarian Women in Science *Wolfgang M. Heckl, Director General of the Deutsches Museum in Munich * Roger Highfield, Director of External Affairs at the Science Museum Group *Ingeborg Hochmair, finalist European Inventor Award 2014 in the Lifetime Achievement category and CEO, CTO and co-founder of MED-EL Medical Electronics Corporation *Helen Lee a researcher with an outstanding career in diagnostics and winner of the European Inventor Award 2016 in the Popular Prize category. * Angelika Niebler, German politician and member of the European Parliament (MEP) for Bavaria with the Christian Social Union *

, inventor of the Geox shoe and chair of the jury The 2019 jury was: *Ulrike Rabmer-Koller, Chair, President of SMEunited, the association of Crafts and SMEs in Europe * Eleni Antoniadou, a researcher in regenerative medicine and bioastronautics * Benoît Battistelli, ex president of the European Patent Office (2010–2018) *Wolfgang Heckl, professor at TU Munich *Roger Highfield, director of External Affairs at the Science Museum Group *

, professor at the ETH Zurich * Helen Lee, associate professor at Cambridge University *Francis Leyder, President of the Institute of Professional Representatives before the European Patent Office * Elmar Mock, swiss inventor, entrepreneur and serial innovator *Massimo Sideri, journalist and writer *Agnė Šimukovičė, journalist *Thierry Sueur, Air Liquid Vice President The 2021 jury was: * Helen Lee, associate professor at Cambridge University and founder of Diagnostics for the Real World Ltd. She is the winner of the European Inventor Award 2016 in the Popular Prize category * Benoît Battistelli, ex president of the European Patent Office (2010–2018) *Sylwia Czubkowska, journalist at the Polish newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza *Jens Frahm is a biophysicist and Director of the Biomedical NMR Research Group at the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry in Göttingen, Germany. *Wolfgang Heckl, Director General of the Deutsches Museum in Munich *Roger Highfield, director of External Affairs at the Science Museum Group *Jean-Luc Issler, Senior Expert and Senior Advisor at CNES Radio Frequency (RF) Directorate *

, professor at the ETH Zurich *Francis Leyder, President of the Institute of Professional Representatives before the European Patent Office *Renata Righetti Pelosi, Managing Partner and President of Italian law firm Bugnion spa *Jean-Pierre Santos, Head of the Intellectual Property Division of the Business Development Agency of the Government of Monaco. *Luisa Santos, Director for International Relations at BusinessEurope and a member of the Trade Expert Group of the European Commission. The 2022 jury was: *Wolfgang Heckl, Director General of the Deutsches Museum in Munich *Esben Beck, founder of Stingray Marine Solutions and finalist for the European Inventor Award 2019 *Virna Cerne, Senior Director Research & Development at Dr. Schär, finalist for the European Inventor Award 2016 * Elvira Fortunato, professor at the New University of Lisbon and a Fellow of the Portuguese Engineering Academy and finalist for the European Inventor Award 2016 *Carmen Hijosa, founder and Chief Creative & Innovation Officer at Ananas Anam, winner of the Popular Prize at the European Inventor Award 2021 *Jean-Luc Issler, Senior Expert and Senior Advisor at CNES Radio Frequency (RF) Directorate *

, professor at ETH Zurich in the Ultrafast Laser Physics research lab *Richard Palmer, entrepreneur and innovation consultant and former 2019 European Inventor Award finalist *Bo Pi, Chief Technology Officer at Goodix Technology Inc.; 2021 European Inventor Award finalist *Carles Puente, co-founder of Ignion and Fractus; 2014 European Inventor Award finalist *Manfred Stefener, Vice President Fuel Cell Systems at Freudenberg Sealing Technologies and former 2012 European Inventor Award finalist *Laura van't Veer, Chief Research Officer and the co-founder of Agendia; 2015 European Inventor Award finalist

References

External links

*{{Official website, www.epo.org/learning-events/european-inventor.html Invention awards European Patent Organisation Inventor *