2021 Innovation Radar Prize crowns winners for green and digital innovations

The European Commission has awarded prizes to some of the most promising innovations in Europe that have emerged from EU-funded research and innovation projects. MetGen from Finland was awarded the overall 2021 Innovation Radar Prize. Their sustainable bio-based additive for fibre-based packaging board provides better strength and moisture resistance of cardboard packaging. Moreover, by ensuring there are no petro-chemical products in the cardboard the packaging is easier to recycle and less of it ends up in landfill. Winners were also selected in three more prize categories. First, the winner for ‘Innovative Sustainability Tech’ was C2CA Technology from the Netherlands, which has developed a patented system for recycling construction material, leading to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Second, the winner of the prize for ‘Innovative Health Tech’ was React4Life from Italy for their organ-on-a-chip solution that supports development of personalised drugs, and can accelerate the development of new therapies. Lastly, Kypo from Czechia won in the ‘Disruptive innovation’ category for its open source cybersecurity training platform, helping to address the shortage of cybersecurity skills in Europe. At the annual event of the Innovation Radar, held on 21 October, 12 finalists from all over Europe pitched their plans for getting to market their ground-breaking innovations, which have been supported by the EU, to a jury of investors and entrepreneurs. The Innovation Radar is a Commission initiative, which highlights innovations emerging from research and innovation projects financed by the EU under Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe, the EU’s research and innovation programmes for 2014-2020 and 2021-2027 respectively. This annual competition has been held since 2015, awarding prizes to the best EU-supported innovators who have developed solutions that can reach the market. More information is available here.