21 Mission Innovation champions to accelerate the clean energy revolution

Mission Innovation (MI) unveiled today the names of 21 innovators who will represent the global MI Champions Programme. This initiative celebrates and supports innovators who are accelerating the clean energy revolution.

At the virtual awards ceremony, Mariya Gabriel, Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, announced the name of one Champion for each participating MI member country and for the European Union.

Commissioner Gabriel said:

The European Union MI Champion, María Luisa Hernández Latorre, is co-founder and CEO of Ingelia. Her company has developed an industrial HTC process to recover carbon and vital elements from organic wastes and produce biomaterials for the industry replacing fossil coal and promoting bioeconomy.

The 21 MI Champions work in a variety of energy-related fields and industries. They are individuals with a track record of creative ideas that can drive the pace and scale of the clean energy revolution, inventing the products and services of the future.

Mission Innovation is a global initiative of 24 countries and the European Commission (on behalf of the European Union) working to reinvigorate and accelerate global clean energy innovation with the objective to make clean energy widely affordable. MI was announced at COP21 on 30 November 2015, as world leaders came together in Paris to commit to ambitious efforts to combat climate change.

As part of the European Green Deal, the EU is committed to decarbonise its energy system to reach the climate objectives in 2030 and 2050 and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Through its membership in the Mission Innovation Programme, the EU works with the MI members across five continents to accelerate the pace of innovation, and make clean energy more widely affordable.