Meet the nine finalists of the 2025 European Women Innovators Award: among them, Agnès Arbat, from Spain

Today, the nine finalists for the European Women Innovators Award 2025 have been announced. The European Women Innovators Award is jointly awarded by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) and the European Innovation Council (EIC). Through this collaboration, the EIT and the EIC are raising the profile of a wide range of women innovators, offering more opportunities for pioneers, and providing inspiring role models for women and girls worldwide.

Launched in 2011, the European Women Innovators Award celebrates women behind groundbreaking innovations. Over the years, it has honored more than 30 scientists and entrepreneurs, and more than 100 have been shortlisted for the final. These women are trailblazers, breaking barriers, and changing the narrative around women in leadership roles.

The finalists competed in three categories:

• Women Innovators: Open to women founders and co-founders from across the EU and associated countries. The winner will receive €100,000, with the two runners-up receiving €70,000 and €50,000, respectively.
• Emerging Innovators: For promising young women innovators under 35. The winner will receive €50,000, with the two runners-up receiving €30,000 and €20,000, respectively.
• EIT Women Leaders Award: For exceptional members of the EIT Community. The winner will receive €50,000, with the two runners-up receiving €30,000 and €20,000, respectively.

In the Emerging Innovators category:

• Camille Bouget (France), co-founder of Scienta Lab, an AI-driven platform developed to address the therapeutic needs of immuno-inflammatory diseases.
• Claudine Adeyemi-Adams (UK), founder of Earlybird, an AI-powered platform that enhances job support by engaging participants in voice-driven conversations, providing advisors with insights and recommendations for more personalized assistance.
• Héloïse Mailhac (France), co-founder of STH BIOTECH, a company that developed SATIVITRO®, an in-vitro bioproduction platform that improves the yield and accessibility of rare cannabinoids for pharmaceutical research through controlled cultivation in bioreactors.

In the Women Innovators category:

• Agnès Arbat (Spain), co-founder of Oxolife, a company developing innovative medicines to improve fertility, aiming to enhance embryo implantation and simplify infertility treatments.
• Fanny Bardé (France), founder of SOLiTHOR, developing next-generation solid-state batteries using a non-flammable, environmentally friendly solid electrolyte.
• Rhona Togher (Ireland), co-founder with Eimear O'Carroll of Lios, a company that developed SoundBounce, an intelligent acoustic material offering noise reduction up to 4 times more effective in less space, 40% lighter, and 4 times thinner, with versatile applications in industries such as construction, automotive, aerospace, and home appliances.

In the EIT Women Leaders category:

• Débora Andreia Campelo Campos (Portugal), founder and CEO of AgroGrin Tech, which developed an innovative and eco-friendly process to transform industrial fruit waste into functional food ingredients.
• Elizabeth McGloughlin (Ireland), co-founder and CEO of Tympany Medical, whose variable-angle endoscopy technology improves patient outcomes and the healthcare system.
• Olesja Bondarenko (Estonia), co-founder and CEO of Nanordica Medical, developing wound care products based on nanotechnology that help prevent infections and promote wound healing.

For more information, read the full article on the European Innovation Council website.