Inventor Olga Malinkiewicz has become the first Polish woman ever to win the European Inventor Award, a prize awarded by the European Patent Office (EPO). Dr Malinkiewicz also received the People’s Choice Award during a ceremony in Valetta, Malta.

Dr Olga Malinkiewicz is the co-founder and chief technology officer of Saule Technologies. Her team was awarded in the SME technology category. Polish inventor was able to defeat competitors from Finland and France with her “solar energy technology using cost-effective and environmentally friendly perovskite solar cells”.

Perovskite solar cells, printed on flexible foil, are „lightweight, ultra-thin, translucent and highly efficient, even in artificial light”. The revolutionary use of the cells widens its usefulness and advances the traditional silicon cells.

“Although we have no direct sunlight here, the cell has started to produce electricity. Imagine how it could work outdoors. Imagine that such cells can cover any surface: walls, roofs, and floors. This is energy that is available to everyone,” dr Malinkiewicz says, describing the invention. 

Photo: X/@Warsaw_Express

Tomasz Modrzejewski