Horizon Prize for the Cleanest Engine of the Future

What was the Horizon Prize for the Cleanest Engine of the Future?

Run by the European Commission with support from Challenge Works, this Horizon Prize aimed to develop the cleanest combustion engine possible.

The Prize would be awarded to participants coming up with a solution integrated in a system prototype for an engine running on available fuels that would be able to demonstrate reduction of emissions of pollutants and lowering fuel consumption in real driving conditions without affecting the operational capabilities of the vehicle.

Why did we do this?

Health impacts due to air quality issues in European cities need to be addressed in the long term along with the decarbonisation of transport. WHO studies reveal that exposure to air pollutants during pregnancy has been associated with adverse birth outcomes, including reduced foetal growth, pre-term birth and spontaneous abortions, while recent studies on air pollution suggest that exposure in early life can significantly affect childhood development and trigger diseases like allergies, asthma or diabetes later in life.

What happened?

The prize was launched on 20 April 2016 at the TRA Conference in Warsaw, Poland. Six concepts competed to win the prize, of which two submitted working prototypes by the deadline of 20 May 2019.

Unfortunately, neither prototype met the minimum threshold of the competition, therefore, the prize was not awarded.