I was shocked to hear the announcement that the ‘Popular Prize’ of the 2026 European Inventor Awards went to the inventors of a smart battery recycling technology!
The 2026 European Inventor Awards was held in Berlin, Germany on Thursday, July 2, 2026. I was happy to watch the live event via YouTube. However, it came as a big surprise that my favourite inventors did not emerge as winners of the Popular Prize of the awards ceremony. Going by its name – Popular Prize, one would have expected the prize to go to an inventor whose invention has a huge, or the most, positive impact on the vast/greatest majority of people around the world.
The Popular Prize is the only part of the European Inventor Awards that invites the general public from all around the world to participate in selecting who emerges the winner of the Popular Prize. 50% of the final decision on who takes away the Popular Prize award is based on who gets the most votes by the general public, while the other 50% is based on the decision of a jury. And, the voting process by the general public ran through sometime around 12 June 2026 until the date for the award ceremony – 2 July 2026. Only one vote per day was accepted, per person.
My favourite invention was the highly effective malaria vaccine by Professor Adrian Hill of the University of Oxford. Malaria would ordinarily be considered as the most popular disease/problem affecting the vast generality of people around the world! It is a serious disease/ailment that has afflicted the generality of humankind for the most number of years, 35 million years, as Professor Sir Adrian Hill mentioned in his video. It has also, and continues to cause the death of millions and millions of people, especially children 5 years of age and below, all over the world every single year! And, considering the high prevalence of malaria for so long a time, and that there has never been previously developed a vaccine for parasites, such as the malaria parasite (vaccines are most usually developed for viruses, e.g. the COVID-19 virus), I strongly believed and expected that the inventor of the highly effective malaria vaccine would ordinarily, and without a doubt, have emerged as the winner of the Popular Prize of the 2026 European Inventor Awards. But rather, it went to the inventors of a smart battery recycling technology.
Anyway, I was delighted that the inventor of the highly effective malaria vaccine came off as the winner of the ‘research’ category of the awards, although I would have expected him to also take home the Popular Prize, as well. I believe that even if all the other contestants themselves were asked to honestly pick whom they think/feel should ordinarily come off as the final winner of the Popular Prize, most, if not all of them, would have agreed that the inventor of the highly effective malaria vaccine, Professor Sir Adrian Hill, should have the Popular Prize award.
Another shock about the awards was that the inventor of an antibody that identifies and targets cancer cells did not even win a single award! I was unhappy about that. Cancer is another popular ailment/problem around the world that is very serious. So, the inventor/discoverer of an antibody for identifying and targeting (and with the possibility of even treating) cancer cells should have at least won an award.
Another inventor whom I was very happy came off the winner of his category was Dr. Franck Zal, from France. He discovered a marine worm, the Lugworm, which has therapeutic potential for human health. After watching his video about his discovery of a marine worm, the Lugworm, I e-mailed this inventor to ask him if his invention/discovery could, among other benefits, help in replacing the need for blood transfusions, and he very promptly (within just a few minutes of sending my e-mail message to him) replied in the affirmative, saying ‘yes,’ he has developed a product known as ‘Hemoxycarrier,’ which can replace the red blood cells coming from blood donations/transfusions. This, along with Oxygen gotten from the marine worm, which serves to prolong the viability of human organs when they have been extracted from the human body during a surgery waiting to be transplanted into another human body, in the period before it is placed in the other human body that needs an organ replacement, are very, very important innovations that would have taken a lot of careful and meticulous effort to develop. Mr. Franck Zal’s discovery and hard work certainly deserved an award! And I am so happy that he emerged the winner of his category, the SMEs (‘Small and Medium [Scale] Enterprises’ category).
So, if I were to suggest, I would say that the eventual winners of the Popular Prize, the inventors of the smart battery recycling technology, would have just humbly, so graciously, and very benevolently, sort of, dedicated their Popular Prize award instead, to Professor Sir Adrian Hill, the inventor of the highly effective malaria vaccine, especially since they had already received an award from their award category (the non-EPO Countries category), thereby recognizing Professor Adrian Hill’s very important invention that contributes the most good for the health and lives of the most/vast generality of people all around the world. Even if just simply by words said during their acceptance speech, I feel that they would have still directed some praise and honour to ‘whom honour is due.’ But, I would have also thought that, better still, they would have so humbly, graciously and very benevolently, even dedicated/handed the Popular Prize to the inventor of the highly effective malaria vaccine, Professor Sir Adrian V.S. Hill! Thank you!
Daniel IGHAKPE
(A concerned observer/participant of the 2026 European Inventor Awards).
Writing from FESTAC Town, Lagos State, Nigeria.
Phone: +234 913 739 3829; E-mail: ighakpe.dan@gmail.com
