This year marked the 34th anniversary of the Hungarian Innovation Grand Prize, which may be awarded to companies registered in Hungary that achieved significant business benefits through outstanding technical and economic innovation performance in the calendar year preceding the award. The evaluation committee reviewed a record number of applications, a total of 91, and selected the most successful innovations of the past year based on six criteria*. The results achieved in 2025 strongly support the performance-oriented approach of the award: based on the aggregation of applications meeting the eligibility criteria, the innovations submitted for this year’s prize generated a total annual additional revenue of more than HUF 980 billion for the applicant companies, while cost savings, reduced environmental impact, and other positive effects resulted in a further societal benefit exceeding HUF 260 billion.
“In the modern world, competitiveness is primarily based on a knowledge- and innovation-driven economy. Over the past more than three decades, the initial rapid convergence of the Hungarian economy was primarily the result of the inflow of foreign technology and capital, followed by rising employment. With the depletion of these resources, the pace of convergence slowed down. For example, productivity per hour worked has hovered around 70% of the EU average since 2010. There is a need for a growing number of domestic companies and activities that generate higher added value, which can be achieved through continuous and wide-ranging innovation in both the economy and society,” emphasized Dr. János Pakucs, founder and current Honorary President of the Hungarian Association for Innovation. In recognition of his decades-long contribution to promoting and advancing innovation in Hungary, he received the Hungarian Innovation Lifetime Achievement Award, established this year by the Hungarian Association for Innovation, at the award ceremony.
“Innovative solutions clearly drive the Hungarian economy forward. Given that the overwhelming majority of global technology companies and the lion’s share of venture capital are currently concentrated in the United States and China, there is no question that Europe – and Hungary in particular – must provide a meaningful response to this challenge. It is encouraging to see that innovation-driven ideas are becoming part of everyday practice across nearly all segments of the business sector in Hungary, with their presence continuously strengthening,” emphasized Elek Nagy, President of the Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Most applications came from the industrial and IT sectors, and geographically, half of them were submitted from Budapest. It is encouraging that a large number of applications were submitted by startup companies (16% of all applications) and SMEs (68% of all applications). In terms of revenue, the majority of the annual additional revenue of over HUF 980 billion generated by the innovations – approximately 70% – was realized on export markets.
“The record number of applications, the significant increase in startup applicants, and the high proportion of SMEs indicate that the renewed, nomination-based application system has performed well. With the support of our partners, we were able to reach far more innovative companies through the Hungarian Innovation Grand Prize call for applications. The organizations involved in the organisation process nominated a total of 236 companies based on their outstanding innovation achievements, of which 56 submitted applications. In other words, nearly two-thirds of the 91 applicants were nominated by one of the nominating organizations,” emphasized Csaba Bőthe, Managing Director of the Hungarian Association for Innovation and Chair of the Organising Committee.
About the awardees
The 2025 Hungarian Innovation Grand Prize was awarded to Kravtex-Kühne Group in recognition of the development of its ultra-light city and suburban bus family and the business results achieved with it. Credobus is the bus brand of the Hungarian Kravtex-Kühne Group, which operates one of the largest bus manufacturing plants in the Central and Eastern European region in Mosonmagyaróvár and Győr. Since 2021, Credobus has gradually introduced its next-generation product family, including the diesel-powered Econell Next and the fully electric Electronell models. Alongside numerous innovations, these buses stand out primarily for their ultra-light weight, achieved thanks to their in-house developed chassis and self-supporting frame structure. Depending on the configuration, the vehicles are 1.5–4 tons lighter, resulting in extremely low energy consumption. Their production also requires fewer raw materials, and in the case of the electric models, smaller batteries. Both the diesel and electric models were independently developed by Credobus, and key system integration and software development tasks were also carried out in Hungary. Nearly 100 Hungarian small and medium-sized enterprises contribute components to the buses, and the start of serial production of the e-buses directly helps preserve around 500 Hungarian jobs.
 |
| Winner of the Hungarian Innovation Grand Prize 2025 / photo: Hungarian Innovation Association |
In the 2025 SME Innovation Award, launched this year for the first time by the Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Webwise Hungary Kft. was recognized for its new commercial platform, Syncee, which facilitates Hungarian companies’ access to export markets.
The 2025 Industrial Innovation Award, announced with the support of the Ministry for National Economy, was awarded to Omixon Biocomputing Kft. for the development of the NanoTYPE and NanoTYPE HLA 11 Plus transplantation genetic tests.
In the 2025 IT Innovation Award, also announced with the support of the Ministry for National Economy, PCB Design Kft. and CAD-Terv Mérnöki Kft., which contributed to the implementation, were recognized for the development of the QM quantum controller hardware platform.
The 2025 Agricultural Innovation Award, announced with the support of the Ministry of Agriculture, was presented to Hevesgép Kft. for the development of a New-generation hay pick-up adapters for high-performance forage harvesters.
The 2025 Energy Innovation Award, announced with the support of the Ministry of Energy, was awarded to CoreComm SI Kft. for the development of a solar power system integrated into roof tiles.
The 2025 Environmental Innovation Award, also announced with the support of the Ministry of Energy, was granted to Virgin Oil Press Kft. for the development of a Chemical-free, zero-waste food valorisation process.
The 2025 Industrial Property Innovation Award of the Hungarian Intellectual Property Office was awarded to Pro Patria Electronics Kft. for the development of the passive radar solution named “PASR-17c Pointer”.
The 2025 DeepTech Award of the National Research, Development and Innovation Office was granted to eChemicles Zrt. for the development of a CO₂ electrolysis system producing green chemicals.
The 2025 Startup Innovation Award of the Hungarian Association for Innovation was awarded to Kodesage Zrt. for the development of Generative AI-powered enterprise software development automation.
A publication presenting the 2025 award winners and the additional applications is available at the following link.
 |
| Winners of the Hungarian Innovation Prize 2025 / photo: Hungarian Innovation Association |
About the Hungarian Innovation Grand Prize
The competition, announced annually for more than three decades, aims to recognise the most outstanding domestic innovation achievements and thereby strengthen a business mindset based on innovation.
The 3rd General Assembly of the Hungarian Association for Innovation in 1991 decided to establish the Hungarian Innovation Grand Prize. The Grand Prize, awarded once a year, may be awarded to companies registered in Hungary that have managed to achieve significant business benefits through outstanding technical and economic innovation performance (including the commercialisation of new products, processes or services) in the year preceding the award. The starting point for innovation may include scientific research, technical and development results, patents, the application of know-how, technology transfer, etc.
The Board of Trustees of the Foundation first announced the Innovation Grand Prize Competition on 21 January 1993. Since then, excluding the 34th call, a total of 1,483 applications have been submitted, of which 1,320 represented implemented and successful innovations, and 255 of these received various innovation awards. Further information on previous award winners is available at www.innovacio.hu.
The 34th Hungarian Innovation Grand Prize Competition was funded by the National Research, Development and Innovation Office from the NRDI Fund.
Source: Hungarian Innovation Association
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*Additional revenue or profit; Technical content and novelty; Environmental protection; Export potential; Social utility; Level of elaboration