LIMES 2026: Three Outstanding Energy Innovations Honored
Vienna, September 30, 2026 – Three projects, three bold ideas, and a shared mission: to drive the future of renewable energy through innovation. For the second time, the Energiepark Research Foundation presented the LIMES Future Prize for Renewable Energy —and honored three outstanding projects in the Kuppelsaal at the Vienna University of Technology.
What began in 2025 with the first call for proposals has gained significant momentum again this year: 28 projects submitted their ideas for LIMES 2026. The call sought innovative approaches related to renewable energy generation, energy transfer, and energy storage—particularly ideas that are still in the early stages of development but have the potential to make a real contribution to the future of energy.
After a multi-stage selection process and an intensive pitch round, three projects made it to the finals: FlexDrill, CO₂ Werkstatt, and CLEARSPEC. Three completely different approaches—united by their innovative spirit, determination to implement their ideas, and the potential to push existing boundaries.
LIMES Awards Ceremony 2026 – The LIMES Community Grows: Group photo with the 2026 finalists, last year’s winners, the Energiepark Research Foundation, and The Energy Bridge.
The Award Ceremony: The 2026 LIMES Award goes to…
🥇 FlexDrill – Andreas Michalka & Sævar Einarsson
Andreas Michalka and Sævar Einarsson of FlexDrill, winners of the 2026 LIMES Future Prize
With FlexDrill, the 2026 LIMES Future Prize—worth 25,000 euros —goes to an innovation that could fundamentally simplify access to geothermal energy.
The team is developing a new approach to geothermal drilling with the goal of making it more flexible, accessible, and cost-effective. In doing so, FlexDrill is addressing one of the key obstacles to the wider use of geothermal energy today: the complex and costly process of accessing the subsurface.
The jury was particularly impressed by the high level of innovation, the clear problem-solving logic, and the great potential for further development, scaling, and practical application.
Congratulations to Andreas Michalka and Sævar Einarsson—our LIMES 2026 winners!
Two Recognition Awards for CO₂ Werkstatt and CLEARSPEC
The jury found it particularly difficult to make a decision this year. The three finalist projects were very close in the judging—which is why the Energiepark Research Foundation will once again award two additional projects with recognition prizes of 5,000 euros each in 2026.
🥈 CO₂ Workshop – Magdalena Teufner-Kabas & Florian Kabas
CO2 Workshop: Magdalena Teufner-Kabas with board members Hannes Schaffer and Theresia Vogel.
The CO₂ Workshop explores how CO₂ can not only be avoided but also used as a valuable raw material. With its innovative approach to CO₂ processing, the project combines climate protection with the circular economy and new industrial applications.
The jury was particularly impressed by the potential to turn a climate-damaging emission into a usable raw material, thereby opening up new prospects for a more sustainable industry.
🥈 CLEARSPEC | Redeem Technologies – Edoardo Doná & Peter Corey
CLEARSPEC: Edoardo Doná & Peter Corey with the foundation's board members Michael Harasek, Hannes Schaffer, and Theresia Vogel.
CLEARSPEC takes an approach that is as unusual as it is forward-looking: End-of-life PV modules —or those no longer suitable for their original use— are given a second life and serve as the basis for innovative photoelectrochemical systems for hydrogen production.
The project thus brings together several key themes of the energy transition: photovoltaics, the circular economy, reuse, and green hydrogen. This approach reimagines existing technologies in new ways and thus embodies precisely the kind of innovation that LIMES aims to highlight.
Congratulations to FlexDrill, CO2 Werkstatt, and CLEARSPEC. Welcome to the growing LIMES community! 💙
A special evening in the Kuppelsaal at TU Wien
The awards ceremony took place on September 30, 2026, in the Kuppelsaal at TU Wien as the closing session of the Energy Bridge Academy Forum 2026.
And in doing so, a very special circle was completed: SiloSophie, with its SiloToHeat project—winner of the first LIMES Future Prize in 2025—returned to the LIMES stage. The team reported on developments since winning last year and finally presented the LIMES trophy to the next winners.
LIMES 2025 has thus definitively become more than just a one-time awards ceremony: a growing community of people and projects is emerging that is blazing new trails for the future of energy.
Special thanks go to our expert jury—the Scientific Advisory Board members Michael Harasek, Reinhard Haas, and Christoph Hauer, as well as the Executive Board members Hannes Schaffer and Theresia Vogel —for their time, expertise, and thorough review of the submitted projects.
We would also like to thank The Energy Bridge, the TU Wien Academy, and all our partners, guests, and supporters who celebrated this special evening with us.
- Learn more about the LIMES Awards Ceremony on LinkedIn: LIMES AWARDS CEREMONY 2026
- Press Release: Bruck – Geothermal Project Wins the Limes Prize from the Energiepark Foundation – NÖN.at
The LIMES Future Prize is more than just an award for us.
It is a commitment to a shared future of renewable energy that we are actively shaping—with ideas that push the boundaries.
LIMES stands for “Boundlessly Innovative: Mission— A Dynamic Future for Energy” —and that is exactly what we are focused on following the second edition of the Future Prize:
Not just to recognize ready-made solutions, but to give bold ideas in their early stages the attention, support, and momentum they need to take the next step.
After all, major changes don't always start with large research budgets. Sometimes they start with an idea, two people—and the courage to do things differently.
Reinforcing knowledge transfer 
