Thursday, May 18, 2023

EPO Inventor Awards - The 2023 Finalists (2)

Copyright © Françoise Herrmann

Below, the 2023 European Inventor Award Finalists, designated “Tomorrow Shapers”, competing in the four categories of  Industry, Research, Small & Medium Enterprises (SMEs), and Non-European Patent Organization Country, plus Lifetime Achievement. The inventors are listed together with one or more hyperlinked patents, reciting their competing inventions. Short YouTube videos are also included, where each team presents their own invention.  

Industry

Michiel Dusselier & Bert Sels (BE)
Invention: A cheaper and greener process for producing bioplastics, using lactic acid.



Josef Faderl, Siegfried Kolnberger, Thomas Kurz & Andreas Sommer (AT and DE)
Invention: Corrosion-resistant, zinc-coated steel, up to six times stronger, for manufacturing lighter and stronger car parts.

  • EP1651789 B1Method for producing hardened parts from sheet steel.
  • EP1658390 B1Method for producing a hardened steel part.
  • EP2864505 B1Method for press hardening of steel.
  • EP2655675 B1Method for producing hardened structural elements.

Pia Bergström, Annika Malm, Jukka Myllyoja, Jukka-Pekka Pasanen & Blanka Toukoniitty​ (FI) 
Invention: The transformation of a wide variety of wastes and residues into premium-quality renewable products, such as fuel.

  • EP3519541 B1 - Oil purification process.
  • EP3519540 B1 - Method for purification of animal or vegetable fats.
  • EP3421572 B1 - Method for increasing gasoline and middle distillate selectivity in catalytic cracking.
  • EP1963461 - Process for producing a hydrocarbon component.

Research

Patricia de Rango, Daniel Fruchart, Albin Chaise, Michel Jehan & Nataliya Skryabina​ (FR) 
Invention: This team of scientists from the National Center for Scientific Research (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - CNRS) in France, invented a safe and sustainable way to store hydrogen.

  • EP2024274B1 - Nanocrystalline composite for storage of hydrogen and process for its preparation.
  • EP2593401B1 - Method for preparing a material for storing hydrogen, including an extreme plastic deformation operation.
  • EP2244970B1 - Hydrogen storage material made from magnesium hydride.
  • EP2235424B1 - Hydrogen storage tank.

Harald Hass & team (DE)
Invention:  ​​High-speed internet using LED lights​ called LIFi - a mobile wireless technology that transmits data through light sources such as LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes), rather than radio frequencies.

  • EP3078130 B1 - System and method for communication between transmitters and receivers having an angular dependence.
  • EP3044889 B1 - Transmission scheme for communications systems.
  • EP2774287 B1 - Communication apparatus and method.
  • EP2540123 B1 - Enhanced spatial modulation.
  • EP2476210 B1 - Encoding method by conveying coded bit information on patterns of different modulation schemes on orthogonal resource units.

Thorsteinn Loftsson & Einar Stefánsson (IS)
Invention: Nanotechnology-based eye treatment that replaces injections to the back of the eye, with less invasive eye drops, for patients with diabetic macular edema.

  •  EP1909755B1 - Cyclodextrin nanotechnology for ophthalmic drug delivery.

Non-Epo Countries

Thomas Oxley and Nicholas Opie (and team)​ (AU)
Invention: The Stentrode, a brain implant for two-way communication with external devices​. The technology enables paralyzed people to control external technology with their minds. The technology is implantable via the jugular vein. The Stentrode attaches like a tattoo inside blood vessels of the brain, in areas controlling sensory and motor activity.

  • EP3612268A4 - Endovascular device for sensing and or stimulating tissue.

​​Kai Wu and team​ (CN)
Invention:  Lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries that lower fire and explosion risks due to overcharging


Kripa Varanasi, David Smith & team ​(India and USA)
Invention:  This Massachusetts Insitute of Technology (MIT) team invented frictionless coatings that prevent viscous substances from sticking to their surfaces, maximizing product use, and eliminating waste. For example,  the invention resolves the problem of not being able to get all the toothpaste out of a tube, or all the ketchup out of a bottle. 

  • EP3956079A1  ​Lubricious surfaces, systems and methods for making the same.

Small & Medium Enterprises (SMEs)

Antoine Hubert & team (FR)
Invention:  Vertical insect farms to produce food, feed and fertilizer.


Luca Rossettini (IT)
Invention: Cleaning up space debris using the D-Orbit system, called the D-Orbiter Decommissioning Device (D3). D-Orbiter detects malfunctioning satellites and takes the satellites out of orbit, where they end up disintegrating in the atmosphere. The invention addresses the accumulation of debris in space, known as the Kessler Syndrome, resulting from satellite collisions. 
 


Rhona Togher & Eimear O’Carroll (IE)
Invention: Reducing noise with advanced acoustic material.

  • EP3146949A1- ​A sound-absorbing device of the type adapted to cover the ears of a user.


Reference

European Inventor Award Finalists - Search Portal
https://tinyurl.com/48mh8x2d

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