20 June 2023
Each year, the European Inventor Award celebrates the achievements of one individual whose long-term contributions help advance society and improve our understanding of the world around us. For his remarkable career spanning over three decades, Avelino Corma Canós has been named the 2023 Lifetime Achievement laureate.
The EPO will pay tribute to him during a ceremony streamed from Valencia on 4 July at 12.00 hrs CEST. To watch the livestream, please register via the links below.
The Spanish professor is a seminal figure in the synthetic catalysts field. One of his earliest breakthroughs came in 1989 when a developed a synthetic zeolite that produced fuel with better mileage, lower carbon emissions in warmer weather and a better capacity to withstand compression in an engine. Since then, his synthetic catalysts have benefited industry and society immeasurably, with his work being used in biomass energy generation or removing NOx to tackle air pollution.
In addition to being named inventor or co-inventor in 200 European patent applications, he co-founded the Instituto de Tecnología Química (ITQ, UPV-CSIC) de València to drive chemistry research in energy, sustainability, health and water. For more on his life, career and ground-breaking work with zeolites, you can read the online feature via the links below.