Following the adoption of the updated 2014-2015 Horizon 2020 Work Programmes, five inducement prizes in the area of health, ICT, and environment have been publicised.
Inducement prizes are new instruments in Horizon 2020 (with only one pilot project in FP7) and aim to deliver breakthrough solutions to problems of societal interest in Europe. The target is clearly defined by the European Commission and further specified through award criteria, but without prescribing how it should be achieved.
The following prizes have been confirmed for 2015:
Breaking the optical transmission barriers Prize
Prize money: EUR 0.5 million
Timeline: Contest will open at the end of 2014 and run until the beginning of 2016
Reduction of Air Pollution Prize
Prize money: EUR 3 million
Timeline: Contest will open at the beginning of 2015 and run until end of 2018
Reducing the Misuse of Antibiotics Prize
Prize money: EUR 1 million
Timeline: Contest will open at the beginning of 2015 and run until summer 2016
Food-Scanner Prize
Prize money: EUR 1 million
Timeline: Contest will open at the beginning of 2015 and run until end of 2015
Collaborative Sharing of Spectrum Prize
Prize money: EUR 0.5 million
Timeline: Contest will open at the beginning of 2015 and run until late 2015
The first ever inducement prize for innovative vaccine technology, worth EUR 2 million, was awarded to a German company in March 2014.
Further information about the current prizes can be accessed by clicking HERE.