Borealis announces winners of 2026 Innovation Award

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Europe’s industrial future will depend on continued investment in research, innovation and technical education, according to a Borealis news release highlighting the winners of the 2026 Borealis Innovation Award. This year’s top award went to students Denise Lehner and Nikola Jelinek for research identifying fungi capable of biodegrading plastics. Second place was awarded to Anna Decker and Lina-Marie Salzmann, whose work on plastic-drying processes demonstrated energy savings of more than 80% compared with standard methods. Third place went to Malik Grovogui and Dominik Henhapel for developing bio-based materials for reusable food packaging.