Oatly pioneer Angeliki Triantafyllou honored with European Inventor Award for oat drink breakthrough

The scientist behind one of the key technological breakthroughs in oat-based drinks has been recognized with one of Europe's highest innovation honors. Angeliki Triantafyllou, whose patented enzymatic process helped improve the taste, texture and stability of oat drinks during her time at Oatly, has won the Industry category at the European Inventor Award 2026.

• Angeliki Triantafyllou won the European Inventor Award 2026 in the Industry category for her work on oat-based drinks.
• Her patented enzymatic process improved protein solubility, taste, texture and stability without creating bitter off-flavors.
• The innovation helped Oatly expand oat drinks from a niche product into a mainstream dairy alternative.

Triantafyllou received the award during a ceremony in Berlin hosted by the European Patent Office (EPO), which recognized inventors whose technologies are addressing challenges across healthcare, energy, food production and sustainability.

The EPO said Triantafyllou's innovation solved a long-standing challenge in oat drink production. Early oat-based beverages often suffered from a grainy texture and poor protein solubility. Existing processing methods relied on proteinase enzymes, which broke proteins into smaller fragments, frequently resulting in bitter flavors, browning during heat treatment and reduced product stability.

Triantafyllou instead developed a more targeted enzymatic process using protein deamidase alongside amylases. Rather than breaking down the proteins, the process improves their solubility while preserving their structure.

Operating at around 55°C, the method produces a whiter oat base with improved protein content, finer foam and a smoother mouthfeel. The result was a product with greater stability and broader consumer appeal.

According to the EPO, the technology played a major role in helping oat drinks move beyond a specialist product aimed primarily at consumers with lactose intolerance and into the wider dairy alternatives market.

Triantafyllou joined the original oat drink development program while completing her PhD in biotechnology at Lund University. The project began in the 1990s when food scientist Rickard Öste and colleagues explored whether oats could provide a nutritious alternative to dairy milk while creating greater value from oat by-products traditionally used as animal feed.

She later co-founded Cereal Base Ceba AB with Öste in 1994, the company that would eventually become Oatly.

Reflecting on the company's early years, Triantafyllou said: "We were very small, and we would have stood no chance against the large multinational food companies if we hadn't pursued the patent path."

Her later enzymatic innovation became a key part of Oatly's product development, enabling the company to launch its Barista range and helping establish oat drinks as a mainstream option for consumers.

Since leaving Oatly in 2016, Triantafyllou has continued developing plant-based beverage technologies through Cerealiq AB, where she serves as Chairman of the Board.

"We live in a changing world, with more people and fewer resources everyday. We need to make our basic food production systems smarter and more efficient," she said.

The European Inventor Award, established by the EPO in 2006, recognizes inventors whose patented technologies have made an exceptional contribution to society, technological progress and sustainable development.

Alongside Triantafyllou, this year's winners included Irish-British scientist Sir Adrian Hill in the Research category for developing the R21/Matrix-M malaria vaccine, French entrepreneur Franck Zal in the SMEs category for creating a universal oxygen carrier derived from marine lugworms, and Chinese inventors Yu Haijun and Xie Yinghao in the Non-EPO Countries category for a lithium-ion battery recycling process. German engineer Professor Rainer Marquardt received the Lifetime Achievement distinction for his pioneering work on high-voltage electricity transmission.