Bioplastics, football-shaped molecules, GPS technology, hydrogen fuels cells and three-dimensional scanning systems - the fields covered by the winners of the European Inventor Award 2010 range from ecology and nuclear physics to information systems and satellite-based navigation. The European Patent Office (EPO) and the European Commission today honoured the five prizewinners from Germany, Switzerland, the USA and Canada at a gala ceremony in Madrid under the presence of Prince Felipe and Princess Letizia of Asturias.

Commission Vice President Antonio Tajani, responsible for enterprise and industry policy said: “The ‘European Inventor of the Year awards’ highlight that Europe continues to be leading in providing breakthrough inventions. These are striking examples how technical innovation and marketing strategies can successfully interact for the benefit of the economy. Moreover the lives of millions of people around the world have been improved again.”

The success of these inventions is an incentive to intensify our future efforts to maintain the quality of European patents as an effective instrument in the protection of innovation", said EPO President Alison Brimelow.

The prize recognises inventors and innovations that have made a significant and lasting contribution to technical progress in Europe and beyond and thus have strengthened Europe's economic position. The European Inventor of the Year Award was jointly instituted by the European Commission and the European Patent Office (EPO).

To find out more about the European Inventor Award 2010 and the winners: http://www.epo.org/forum-inventor