About
The Net-Zero Industries Award recognises and celebrates outstanding innovations in industrial decarbonisation. It shines a light on the people and projects that are revolutionising energy-intensive industries and driving substantial reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.
To celebrate the trailblazers spearheading this transformation, Mission Innovation’s Net-Zero Industries Mission established the Net-Zero Industries Award as the first global competition for outstanding work on industrial decarbonisation.
In 2025, the Mission Innovation Net-Zero Industries Award again recognises and celebrates pioneering advances in industrial decarbonisation.
Download the NIM Award 2025 Brochure
Why apply
The Net-Zero Industries Award celebrates the people and projects leading the charge in industrial decarbonisation. Now in its third year, it offers a unique opportunity to showcase your work on a global stage, connect with top innovators and policymakers shaping the future of industry, and inspire the next generation of net-zero pioneers.
Last year’s winners of the main categories and the special prize received their awards from Austrian and Australian ministers and were invited to present their work at COP29 in Baku. In 2025, we plan to honour this year’s winners at a high-level ceremony—likely at COP30 or a similar global event—ensuring their achievements receive the visibility and recognition they deserve.
Main Categories
In 2025, the Net-Zero Industries Award recognises the extraordinary efforts made by individuals and organisations in three categories:
Outstanding Projects
We are looking for groundbreaking projects that transform industries, challenge the status quo, and establish new standards for decarbonisation in hard-to-abate and energy-intensive sectors. Within the Outstanding Projects category, top submissions in each of NIM’s four key sectors will be recognised, in addition to the overall best project. Awards will be given to the highest-ranked entries, in the following sectors:
- Iron & Steel
- Cement & Lime
- Chemicals & Refining
- Other energy-intensive industries (alumina, glass, etc.)
Female Innovators
Women play a pivotal role in shaping our society and have immense potential to lead the change towards a net-zero future. We want to honour exemplary women who have broken barriers and are driving change in industries. Your contributions are invaluable, and this is your moment to be acknowledged for your remarkable achievements.
Young Talents
We firmly believe that the power to drive change lies within young minds, brimming with fresh ideas and unwavering determination. We want to celebrate the young trailblazers, the visionaries of tomorrow, who are already making remarkable strides towards a sustainable world. If you are a young professional or a student, this is your opportunity to be recognised as a driving force in the fight for industrial decarbonisation.
Special prize 2025: TOP INNOVATION in Industrial Electrification
The Special Prize 2025 will recognise Outstanding Projects that have demonstrated significant innovation in industrial electrification, leading to substantial reductions in fossil fuel use at the process or site level. Eligible initiatives may also include enabling measures such as energy storage and demand-side response. Projects submitted under the Outstanding Projects Category will be considered for the Special Prize 2025 if they address the technology pathway of Electrification of production processes.
National Net-Zero Industries Awards
The best project submission from each Net-Zero Industries Mission core mission member country will be awarded: Australia, Austria, Canada, China, Finland, Germany, the Republic of Korea and the United Kingdom. The Net-Zero Industries Award will showcase the outstanding innovations in each country.
How to apply
Applications open on 16 June 2025, 16:00 CEST and close on 14 September 2025, 24:00 CEST.
Applications must provide all required information and supporting documents in the online submission system:
- Online user account — Create an account and complete information about the applicant
- Online Application — Technical description of the submission. Answer all the questions related to your submission directly in the online tool. Online applications can be saved without limits so that applicants can complete them flexibly and not all at once.
- Attachments — Applicants can support their application by providing additional documents. Details of mandatory and optional attachments for each category can be found in the ‘Rules of Contest’ document.
To apply please download:
- Submission Form Category OUTSTANDING PROJECT
- Submission Form Category FEMALE INNOVATOR
- Submission Form Category YOUNG TALENT
Am I Eligible to the Award?
Submissions in all categories must address the decarbonisation of heavy industry in the iron & steel, cement & lime, chemical & refining or other energy-intensive and hard-to-abate sectors.
In the Outstanding Projects category, we accept submissions from companies, research institutes, universities, and project consortia on implemented projects and projects with secured funding, inspiring pilot projects and research work. This includes all technology readiness levels, from initial lab tests to prototypes to demonstrations and solutions available to consumers.
The Female Innovators category is open to women in all their diversity. We accept submissions from individuals. It is about your performance, not that of your employer or company. The award recognises women working on breakthrough innovations to decarbonise heavy industry and it celebrates women innovators who are making a difference through their work, whether in research, corporate leadership, public administration, or an international initiative.
In the Young Talents category, we accept submissions of scientific works (e.g. thesis, dissertation, journal article, scientific publication) with thematic relevance for the above-mentioned sectors. Participation is limited to individuals not older than 35 years (the age of 36 must not be reached by 31 December 2025).
Not sure if your work fits? Reach out—we’re happy to advise.
Please find more information in the Rules of Contest.
Resubmission of entries from the previous year
It is permitted to resubmit entries from the previous year. This excludes the overall winners in all three categories and the national winners in all categories. Companies and organisations that have already submitted a project in the Outstanding Projects category in 2023 or 2024 and have thus become the overall winner or national winner can still submit other projects in 2025.
Award criteria
Applications will be evaluated against the following award criteria:
- Breakthrough innovation – the project/solution or work of the applicant is pioneering a breakthrough and disruptive innovation for the decarbonisation of heavy industries.
- Impact – the submission addresses a real need or challenge and contributes to enabling radical emissions reduction in heavy industries at lowest costs.
- Scientific excellence and overall quality of content.
- Inspiration – the application/applicant is a role model and or frontrunner, who inspires others (only applicable for the ‘Female Innovators’ category)
A more detailed description on the award criteria can be found in the Rules of Contest.
Award ceremony
After the evaluation of all submissions by an independent expert jury, all applicants will be notified of the results.
The winners in each category of the Net-Zero Industries Award 2025 will be announced in an award ceremony. It is currently planned to hold the award ceremony at the 2025 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30) 10– 21 November or an event of similar scale.
Winners and all other submitters will be informed about the outcome of the evaluation at the latest 3 weeks before the award ceremony.
Contact us
For more information, please contact the Net Zero Industries Mission Secretariat:
- Stefanie Nagler Netzeroindustriesaward@ait.ac.at
- Oxana Schmidt Netzeroindustriesaward@ait.ac.at
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Previous Awards
