The importance of innovation was emphasised again this year by the awarding of the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry and the ‘Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel’ — often referred to as the Nobel Prize in Economics.
The Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson and Omar Yaghi for their brilliant work on metal-organic frameworks (MOFs): molecular structures with large, porous spaces in which gas molecules can flow. All kinds of useful applications can be devised for these molecular sponges, such as harvesting water from dry desert air, capturing carbon dioxide or filtering harmful substances such as PFAS from water.
This year’s ‘Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel’ was awarded to Noel Mokyr, Philippe Aghion and Peter Howitt. They demonstrate how technological innovation is the basis for long-term economic growth. Whereas stagnation used to be the norm, the world has experienced an unprecedented increase in prosperity over the past two hundred years. Their work emphasises that economic growth cannot be taken for granted. Only if we continue to give space to innovation and remain open to change can we continue to make progress.
