How about that - we came second in the prestigious EIT Venture Award 2025

We are proud to have secured second place in the EIT Venture Award 2025, earning a €30,000 prize at the finals held at the Budapest Congress Center in Hungary. The EIT Awards, organized by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), honor Europe’s most promising and impactful entrepreneurs and innovators across three categories: EIT Venture, EIT Innovation Team, and EIT Changemaker.

Nominated by EIT RawMaterials, one of EIT’s Knowledge and Innovation Communities, we were recognized for our progress in developing and commercializing Alchemist, our advanced self-cleaning microfiltration solution. Alchemist enables the mining industry to process water more efficiently, recover valuable resources, and reduce environmental impact.

“We are thrilled to be in the Champions League of European entrepreneurship! Taking home this award is the result of solid team effort – in less than 18 months we’ve discovered, demonstrated and built the foundation for a game-changing approach in mining,” said Riina Salmimies, CEO of Sofi Filtration. “The momentum is now, and we are ready to pounce.”

The EIT Venture Award shines a spotlight on high-growth start-ups and scale-ups that are driving impact through innovation, sustainability, and market success. Our technology is rapidly being adopted across the mining, metals, energy, and manufacturing sectors, where clean water and resource efficiency have never been more essential.

The other two nominees in the category were Digiclean Solutions AB (Sweden) and ABLE Human Motion (Spain), the latter taking first prize for its wearable motorized exoskeleton innovation designed to improve mobility and quality of life.

Antoaneta Angelova Krasteva, Director at the Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture of the European Commission, said: ‘The EIT Awards highlight why Europe needs strong innovation ecosystems connecting education, research and business. These innovators show how entrepreneurship and collaboration can address real challenges that matter to citizens. We are committed to supporting this work and helping more talented Europeans turn their fledgling ideas into marketable solutions.’

Photo our CEO Riina Salmimies and Antoaneta Angelova-Krasteva, Director of DG EAC, who gave away the awards at the final ceremony. (photo credit: EIT)