Four of them will receive the prestigious "European Inventor Prize 2022" on June 21, awarded by an international jury rewarding "their contribution to technology, sustainability and economic growth as well as to the improvement of everyday life," the EPO said.
Eight of the finalists are women and seven of the thirteen selected projects relate to energy and climate transition.
Estonian scientists have optimized curved graphene for use as a cathode in supercapacitors, providing fast-charging, long-lasting power sources.
In France, the aeronautical engineer Frédérick Pasternak, who has already filed some twenty patents in his career, invented a satellite meteorological instrument (interferometer) which considerably improves the accuracy of weather forecasts and scientific predictions on climate change. climate, by making it possible to better situate the quantities of CO2, CH4 (methane) and other chemical compounds in the atmosphere.
French chemist Claude Grison has established a method for using plants to extract metallic elements from polluted soils around mining sites, then using them as "eco-catalysts" (filters) to make new molecules for chemical industries. , pharmaceuticals and cosmetics.
Belgian researchers have invented solar panels that produce hydrogen gas from sunlight and ambient humidity.
In the field of health, the Franco-Swiss team of biotechnology engineer Madiha Derouazi and immunologist Elodie Belnoue has developed a platform for the manufacture of cancer vaccines that help the immune system recognize and destroy cancer cells in a patient's body.
Among non-EPO countries, Canadian-American chemist Donald Sandoway has developed a liquid metal battery to store solar and wind energy.
The Israelis Ido Sella and Shimrit Perkol-Finkel have developed a new type of concrete allowing a habitat for marine life for the construction of infrastructures such as seawalls, ports and marinas.
The finalists hail from Germany, Belgium, Canada, China, Spain, Estonia, United States, France, Indonesia, Israel, Portugal, United Kingdom and Switzerland.
© 2022 AFP