These 6 companies show that Europe, the Middle East, and Africa are still cradles of innovation

There is apparently no problem too big for the EMEA region to solve, as the 2026 World Changing Ideas honorees clearly show. Across the European continent, companies are reckoning with the issues of our time, including curbing water waste in farming, domesticating lithium mining, and showing therapeutic activity within cancer cells in real time.

Winners

Bioplates, SN Portugal A major barrier steering high-end hotels away from using eco-friendly tableware has been a less-than-luxury appearance. SN Portugal has overcome that hurdle by producing sustainable plates that are 40 times more durable than porcelain and have a premium look. In 2025, Bioplates transformed from a concept to a market-ready product. Made from proprietary bioplastic, the plates replace toxic materials like melamine and the need for single-use plastics, which create plastic waste and have a high carbon footprint. A series of tests last year at the University of Aveiro showed that Bioplates can withstand 7,000 industrial washes and temperatures up to 226°F, while a carbon assessment proved their carbon negativity. The company also picked up biodegradability certifications as well as a 2025 World Sustainability Award. The testing has also expanded to luxury European hospitality groups including Six Senses and Aethos, which have confirmed successful use at their resorts, beach clubs, and weddings—including at dinners from Michelin Green Star chefs.

Direct lithium extraction in Northern England, Evove Thoughelectric vehicles are significantly more sustainable than combustion-engine autos over the course of their lifespan, they actually generate more carbon than gas cars during the manufacturing process. That’s largely due to mining for lithium, which takes place around the world before it’s typically refined in China then fitted into batteries in Southeast Asia. A much cleaner option, direct lithium extraction (DLE), is an emerging technology—and Evove is building the U.K.’s first DLE plant in the northeast of England. It taps into local geothermal waters in a process more akin to brining than mining. In a demo pilot in 2025, Evove produced two metric tons of lithium carbonate equivalent for Northern Lithium, proving the process—in particular, the advanced filtration technology—as well as a high yield rate of 92% and purity of 96.5%. The next step will be opening the plant in 2027 and demonstrating its replicability around the world. It’s already gained a partner in Japanese water-treatment company Kurita.

First adaptable office, Mute Since 2016, Polish company Mute has been a pioneer in office design and adaptation, producing acoustic office pods and room-in-room systems for global companies including Audi, Microsoft, and Netflix. But to prove that modern office redesign doesn’t have to mean just the odd pod here and there, in 2025 the company built its entire Warsaw office using modular systems—a first of its kind in Europe. They put the 9,000-square-foot office together in two weeks with just a patented “click-in” system (no tools required), from the conference rooms to lounge areas and coffee stations to demonstrate a “living proof” of such a structure. Crucially, this design practice eliminates the need for traditional plasterboard construction, which is less cost effective; the more sustainable modular approach can be reconfigured countless times and in different locations without the typical masses of material waste and carbon emissions incurred.

Lighting Up Cancer, NVision Imaging Technologies Cancer patients often endure months of unpleasant therapies without fully knowing if the treatment is working. The standard monitoring method, MRI scans, can view a tumor’s size and location but not its metabolic activity within cells, which would illustrate a therapy’s effectiveness. German deep-tech company NVision has developed a quantum-based polarizer—an optical filter that blocks certain light waves while letting others pass through—that would allow an injectable liquid imaging agent to show up on MRI machines, “lighting up” cancer cells and showing the metabolic activity within in real time. In 2025, NVision proved that the tech, POLARIS, works outside a lab, and deployed it to two major cancer research institutions—Memorial Sloan Kettering and Cambridge University—for initial testing, with clinical studies to begin this year. Once this “virtual biopsy” tech rolls out, it will be able to scale widely given its compatibility with MRIs, and hopefully increase patient outcomes, as doctors can pivot patients to alternative treatments without losing too much time.

Reducing water waste in agriculture, Doktar Technologies Global freshwater demand is predicted to outpace supply by 40% by 2030. Agriculture needs water, but water wastage is common throughout the industry due to conventional irrigation practices driven by intuition rather than data. Bringing irrigation into the modern world at a water crisis point, Dutch agritech company Doktar offers a holistic digital solution for farmers, providing them with tools to optimize irrigation, saving water and carbon emissions. While other agritech solutions may focus singularly on in-app tracking, Doktar combines this with on-field sensors, satellite analytics, andAI-based irrigation models, all of which help provide farmers with daily, customized recommendations. Central to the mission is helping farmers change deeply rooted behaviors, supported by in-person onboarding and regular on-site visits, which helps farmers save money by improving water retention, cutting fertilizer waste, and improving soil structure, ultimately increasing profits. Doktar also helps corporate clients, including Coca-Cola, Cargill, and Unilever, integrate these interventions with their broader environmental commitments and ESG reporting.

Honorable Mention

Dear Economy, EY Doberman

Explore the full list of Fast Company’s World Changing Ideas, 191 projects that are making the world more accessible, equitable, and sustainable.