In one week, the Tapojärvi Innovation Challenge 2025 Final will take place, where student teams from across Europe will present their solutions for the utilisation of industrial side streams.
Four international teams will present their solutions to the jury and the audience. The winning team will be awarded a €10,000 cash prize.
The jury consists of experienced experts in industry, commercialisation and finance, whose task is to evaluate the ideas from technical, economic and societal perspectives.
The event, organised in cooperation with EIT RawMaterials, will take place on 27 October 2025 at 14:00, and it is part of Tapojärvi’s 70th anniversary year.
Three experts, three perspectives
The jury evaluates the teams’ solutions based on innovation, technical feasibility, circular economy impact, economic potential, and presentation skills.
The jury members are Mauri Kauppi, Timo Kurtti and Roger Keisu, whose backgrounds cover industrial circular economy development, international business and financial strategy.
Mauri Kauppi, member of Tapojärvi’s Board of Directors, has worked for decades in the processing and productisation of industrial side streams. He emphasises the importance of understanding both environmental and production impacts in circular economy solutions.
“A good idea alone is not enough. You need to see how it fits into industrial processes and how it affects the whole system.”
Timo Kurtti, who worked in various positions at Outokumpu’s Finnish companies for decades, brings experience from production, maintenance, sales and expansion projects. He has also trained in Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) methods.
“Industry needs solutions and out-of-the-box thinking. Students’ ideas often show the courage needed — but practical feasibility must also be evaluated,” Kurtti says.
The third judge, Roger Keisu from Sweden, has more than 40 years of experience in the banking sector. He stresses that the level of innovation and its financing are key to competitiveness.
“The economic and social impact of innovations is an essential part of sustainability. A well-designed idea can generate new markets, profitability, and jobs,” Keisu notes.
Cooperation across borders
Behind the international cooperation is EIT RawMaterials, an EU innovation community supporting responsible raw materials and materials economy development.
EIT RawMaterials underlines that the competition gives students the opportunity to understand the real needs of industry. Innovations should be evaluated not only as technical solutions but also as social and economic entities.
“This is not just an idea competition, but a learning process. With both industrial and economic experts on the jury, students get a realistic view of what it takes to turn innovation into practice,” summarises Henri Pilventö, Tapojärvi’s Chief Commercial Officer.
Tapojärvi Innovation Challenge 2025
Since 2019, the competition has brought together industry and universities to tackle sustainability challenges. This year’s theme focuses on the utilisation of side streams from the mining, steel and forest industries.
The final can be followed live on Tapojärvi’s YouTube channel on 27 October 2025 from 14:00.
