130 stubborn minds from 25 countries: wave power's storm-tamers win Monaco's top planet prize

Waves are one of the steadiest sources of clean power on Earth — if a machine can survive them. In Monaco, HSH Prince Albert II has presented the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation's 2026 Planetary Health Award for Innovation to CorPower Ocean, a Swedish company whose wave energy converters have endured Atlantic storm waves up to 18.5 metres high while still making electricity from everyday swells. In July, its converter became the first in the world to receive a DNV Prototype Certificate, a key step towards financing and building at scale, and the company is now advancing its first industrial-scale wave farms off Portugal and Scotland. 'The award belongs to our team: 130 stubborn minds from 25 countries who are turning that potential into reality,' said chief executive and co-founder Patrik Möller. The other 2026 laureates are Kenyan coral reef scientist Dr David Obura and Chadian Indigenous rights and climate advocate Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim.

SDG 7 · Affordable and clean energy — Mechanism: tech innovation