Sustainable technology innovations awarded at Young Inventors Prize
At a ceremony held in Reykjavík, Iceland, the European Patent Office (EPO) announced the winners of the 2025 Young Inventors Prize special prizes.
This year's selected inventors, called 'Tomorrow Shapers,' were selected from more than 450 international applicants, all of whom were aged 30 and under.
While ten inventors or teams received recognition from the EPO for their technologies, three received special awards — World Builders, Community Healers, and Nature Guardians — and one was selected as the People's Choice through an online public vote.
Euronews spoke to the winners of the special prizes about their inventions.
Capturing carbon emissions and redefining fashion
The Nature Guardians prize went to US scientists and twin sisters Neeka and Leila Mashouf, whose invention converts carbon dioxide into cellulose-based fibres — offering a sustainable alternative to conventional textiles.
The textile industry is responsible for 8% of CO2 emissions worldwide. Their company, Rubi, uses a proprietary enzymatic process that mimics the natural way trees absorb CO2 but without the land or water demands of harvesting forests or growing cotton.
"A tree breathes CO2. It starts as a seed and is able to use this carbon to grow its trunk, branches and leaves. We essentially mimic this process, taking carbon and making these essential materials — but without the need to cut down trees," Neeka Mashouf told Euronews.
Biodegradable sachet to combat food waste
The Community Healers award went to Ugandan entrepreneurs Sandra Namboozo and Samuel Muyita, who developed a biodegradable sachet that extends the shelf life of fruit.
Food waste is responsible for 10% of CO2 emissions, according to the FAO. Drawing from their backgrounds in farming communities, the two developed a sachet made from plant-based compounds that slows the ripening of fruit, extending shelf life by up to 30 days.
"Karpolax is essentially a sachet that we place in fruit crates during storage or delivery. It releases an active substance that inhibits the phospholipase D enzyme responsible for the senescence or deterioration of fruit membranes," Namboozo told Euronews.
Recycling rare earths
Marie Perrin, a French-US chemist, won the World Builders prize for developing a process for recycling the rare earths found in electronic waste.
Rare earths are a family of 17 elements on the periodic table, such as neodymium and europium, which are used to build our telephones and computers, as well as wind turbines and electric cars. China has achieved a virtual monopoly in the exploitation and production of rare earths.
Perrin's innovation, a novel process to recover the rare earth element europium from discarded fluorescent lamps, eliminates the environmental damage typically caused by traditional mining.
"Their production through mining poses major geopolitical and environmental problems. So recycling is something of a magic bullet, both in terms of geopolitics and environmental impact", Perrin told Euronews.
Smart food label
The People's Choice prize went to a team of Spanish researchers — Pilar Granado, Pablo Sosa Domínguez and Luis Chimeno
The trio developed a biodegradable label to place on food that changes colour when it comes into contact with bacteria. It can be used to indicate in real time whether a food item has expired, thereby preventing food poisoning and wastage.
Their innovation is already on the market and could help reduce Europe's staggering 59 million tonnes of food waste annually.
Chimeno described the win as "a recognition of our path," noting that it affirmed the team's belief in the power of everyday solutions.
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