Save the date for the online launch ceremony of Mission Innovation Champions 2020 on Friday, June 12, 2020 from 13:00-13:30, Brussels Time. It will feature Mariya Gabriel, EU Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth. A virtual session, “Promoting Clean Energy Innovation in a Post-COVID World,” will follow. More information is here.

Please watch the recording of the webinar we hosted on Tuesday, March 10, 2020 to learn more about Mission Innovation Champions.

The deadline to register for the programme is Wednesday, March 18, 2020 at 5:00 PM GMT. Registration is required in order to participate and submit a proposal for Mission Innovation Champions. Please send any inquires to questions@michampions.net.

Please join us Tuesday, March 10 from 2:30pm – 3:30pm GMT for a Q&A webinar to learn more about Mission Innovation Champions and ask questions. Details on how to access the online information session will be emailed to those who register to the programme, and the webinar will be recorded and made available shortly after. On Tuesday, March 24 at 2:30pm GMT, we’ll host a second webinar for registered applicants for a more technical review of the online platform and to answer questions.

In the meantime, please send any inquiries to questions@michampions.net and remember – registration to the programme is required and must be complete no later than Wednesday, March 18, 2020 at 5pm GMT. Join the webinar here.

Today, Mission Innovation (MI) launched its second MI Champions programme. Through this Programme, MI aims to build a community of visionaries committed to the promise of clean energy research and development, by activating and engaging a new generation of researchers, inventors and leaders.

Mission Innovation Champions will be selected through a rigorous international competition, including evaluations by a diverse panel of experts from around the globe. Nominations and applications are evaluated based on the audaciousness and creativity of the ideas or solutions proposed, their potential impact and the vision of the candidates towards addressing climate change challenges in the energy sector through innovation.

The 2020 MI Champions Programme aims to build on the success of the 2019 edition which attracted wide interest with applicants spanning academia, business and research.  The 2019 Champions work in a variety of energy-related fields and industries. They are the people inventing the products and services of the future or discovering the science that underpins them. Their participation at the 4th MI Ministerial (MI-4) meeting in Vancouver in May 2019 gave an added dimension to discussions by showcasing the entrepreneurial creativity and scientific excellence that is transforming the clean energy sector.

"The Mission Innovation Champions programme has connected me with like-minded people around the world. Collaboration is key to generating the big ideas that will change the way we produce and use energy" said Alvaro Beltran, CEO and founder of Onyx Solar and a 2019 MI Champion.

The 2020 MI Champions programme officially launches today, Monday, 20 January 2020. All candidates must register to complete an application no later than 5:00 PM GMT on 18 March 2020. The application deadline is 1 April 2020 at 5:00 PM GMT.

Selected Champions will take part in the fifth Mission Innovation Ministerial (MI-5) to take place in Viña del Mar, Chile from June 2-4, 2020, where they will be recognized by the Mission Innovation community and gain visibility through active outreach and communication efforts.

“The European Commission is proud to support the 2020 Mission Innovation Champions programme,” said Patrick Child, the E.C.’s Deputy Director General for Research and Innovation. “Today, individuals across the globe are developing the innovations that will drive the clean energy revolution; this is their opportunity to bring their creative solutions to the attention of policy-makers, investors and the public at large.”

About Mission Innovation

Mission Innovation (MI) 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 alongside the Paris Agreement on November 30, 2015, as world leaders came together in Paris to commit to ambitious efforts to combat climate change. For more information, please visit http://www.mission-innovation.net

Mission Innovation 

At the launch event, which took place on 10 December at COP25, Patrick Child, the EC’s Deputy Director General for Research and Innovation said:

“The European Commission is proud to support the 2020 Mission Innovation Champions programme. Today, individuals across the globe are working on the innovations that will drive the clean energy revolution; this is their opportunity to bring their creative solutions to the attention of policy-makers, investors and the public at large.”

Potential 2020 Mission Innovation Champions will be invited to apply online (open in January 2020) and will be evaluated by a diverse panel of experts from participating MI countries. Applications will be judged based on the audaciousness and creativity of the ideas or solutions proposed; their potential impact; as well as the vision of the candidates towards addressing the climate change challenges in the energy sector through innovation. Successful Champions will travel to Chile in June 2020 to take part in MI-5, the 5th Mission Innovation Ministerial meeting.

Alvaro Beltran, the EC’s 2019 MI Champion and CEO and founder of Onyx Solar (a leading manufacturer of transparent photovoltaic glass for buildings), said:

“The Mission Innovation Champions programme has connected me with like-minded people around the world. Collaboration is key to generating the big ideas that will change the way we produce and use energy.”

The 2019 Champions Program attracted wide interest with applicants spanning academia, business and research. The Awarded Champions work in a variety of energy-related fields and industries. They are the people inventing the products and services of the future or discovering the science that underpins them. Their participation at the 4th MI Ministerial (MI-4) meeting in Vancouver in May 2019 gave an added dimension to discussions by showcasing the entrepreneurial creativity and scientific excellence that is transforming the clean energy sector.