2026 European Prize for Women Innovators: AI-MedTech, Space Cargo Reusability, and Blockchain Supply Chain Winners Announced

• Second place: Elena Heber (Germany) — co-founder and Managing Director of HelloBetter, a digital therapeutics leader expanding access to clinically validated mental health care using AI-driven solutions .
• Third place: Judit Camargo Sanromà (Spain) — founder and CEO of Roka Furadada, which develops eco-friendly cosmetic ingredients that provide high-performance UV protection while reducing the environmental impact of sunscreens .

EIC Rising Innovators: Reusable Space Capsules for In-Orbit Manufacturing

Winner: Marta Oliveira (Belgium) — co-founder and COO of ATMOS Space Cargo — took the €50,000 Rising Innovators prize (reserved for innovators under 35) for developing reusable space capsules that can safely return materials from low-Earth orbit . This technology unlocks new opportunities for in-space research and manufacturing by providing a reliable, cost-effective way to bring processed materials—such as pharmaceuticals, advanced alloys, or fiber optics—back to Earth .

• Second place: Judit Giró Benet (Spain) — founder of The Blue Box, a non-invasive urine-based breast cancer screening test designed to catch cases traditional mammography often misses, especially in underserved populations .
• Third place: Carin Lightner (Switzerland) — co-founder and CEO of Enantios, which accelerates drug discovery through faster, more precise molecular analysis .

EIT Women Leadership: Blockchain Traceability for Battery and Product Passports

Winner: Ella Cullen (Portugal) — co-founder and CMO of Minespider — received the €50,000 EIT Women Leadership award for advancing digital product and battery passports using blockchain-based supply chain traceability . Minespider’s platform allows manufacturers to trace raw materials from source to finished product, making global supply chains more transparent and sustainable. This is particularly critical under the EU’s new Battery Regulation, which requires detailed lifecycle documentation for all batteries sold in Europe .

Sources for the second and third places in this category were not fully captured in the available materials, but the category overall recognizes women in leadership roles who drive innovation through technology .

Prize Categories and Prizes at a Glance

• EIC Women Innovators (open to all women founders): Winner €100,000; runners-up €70,000 and €50,000 .
• EIC Rising Innovators (under 35): Winner €50,000; runners-up €30,000 and €20,000 .
• EIT Women Leadership: Winner €50,000; runners-up €30,000 and €20,000 .

Why These Innovations Matter

The 2026 winners represent three of the most capital-intensive, high-impact sectors in European deep tech:

• Healthcare AI — where Spranger’s work tackles a condition that affects 3–5% of the global population (brain aneurysms) and where surgical precision is literally a matter of life and death .
• Space manufacturing — where Oliveira’s reusable capsules promise to dramatically lower the cost of accessing microgravity for industry, potentially creating a new orbital economy .
• Supply chain sustainability — where Cullen’s blockchain system helps companies comply with the EU Battery Regulation and other due-dediligence laws, making “green” claims verifiable and fraud-resistant .

About the European Prize for Women Innovators

Co-managed by the European Innovation Council (EIC) and the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), the prize is now in its 12th edition. It aims to raise awareness of the critical role women play in deep-tech entrepreneurship and to inspire the next generation of founders . The winners were selected from an initial pool of 18 semi-finalists across the three categories .