The 2026 Global Energy Prize shortlist released

MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay, June 10, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The Global Energy Association has released the shortlist for the 2026 Global Energy Prize – the final list of this year's nominees for one of the world's most prestigious awards in energy science. The roster of the finalists includes 15 scientists from nine countries: Chile, China, Cyprus, India, Mexico, Russia, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the United States.

The shortlisting crowns the second stage of the nomination cycle. The first stage took place from January 1 to April 20, 2026. Representatives of 30 countries and territories participated in the nomination process, with nominees hailing from 28 countries. Following the selection process, the nominees that received the highest scores were shortlisted for the award in three categories: "Traditional Energy," "Non-Traditional Energy," and "New Ways of Energy Application."

At the final stage of the nomination cycle, an international committee chaired by Nobel laureate Rae Kwon Chung will select the recipients of the prestigious award. "This year's shortlist reflects the vast scale of modern energy science. I am confident that many of the submitted projects will have an impact on the development of global energy in the coming decade. Therefore, I congratulate all the scientists whose names have been included in the short list for the award," said Rae Kwon Chung.

Traditional Energy

1. Yilu Liu, U.S.
Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Tennessee

2. Amit Goyal, U.S.
Founding Director of the multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary RENEW (Research & Education in Energy, Environment & Water) Institute at SUNY-Buffalo in Buffalo, New York

3. Haisheng Chen, China
Director of the Institute of Engineering Thermophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences

4. Jorge Ancheyta-Juarez, Mexico
Professor at the Higher School of Chemical Engineering and Extractive Industries (ESIQIE) at the National Polytechnic Institute (IPN) in Mexico

5. Alexander Batanov, Russia
Head and Chief Designer of the Special Design and Technology Bureau of Applied Robotics

Non-Traditional Energy

1. Bhim Singh, India
Emeritus Professor, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi

2. Soteris Kalogirou, Cyprus
Professor at Cyprus University of Technology

3. Yushan Yan, U.S.
Director, Center for Clean Hydrogen, University of Delaware

4. Josep M. Guerrero, China
Center for Research on Renewable Energy and Microgrids, Huanjiang Laboratory, Zhejiang University

5. José H. Zagal Moya, Chile
Professor Emeritus, Director of the Electrocatalysis Laboratory, University of Santiago de Chile

New Ways of Energy Application

1. Johann W. Kolar, Switzerland
Professor Emeritus at the Department of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering, ETH Zurich

2. Jun Liu, U.S.
Director of the Innovation Center for Battery500 Consortium, Battelle Fellow at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL)

3. Yulong Ding, UK
Founding Chamberlain Chair of Chemical Engineering at the University of Birmingham and Director of Birmingham Centre for Energy Storage

4. William A. Goddard, U.S.
Director of the Materials and Process Simulation Center at the California Institute of Technology

5. Laura Gagliardi, U.S.
Professor of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, University of Chicago

Contact for media inquiries:
Gabriela Casulo
gcasulo@ge-prize.org

source: The Global Energy Association