Fionn Ferreira

Fionn Ferreira is a scientist, inventor and sustainability keynote speaker whose work sits at the intersection of environmental science, innovation and public engagement. Best known as the winner of the Google Science Fair Global Grand Prize 2019, Fionn has become one of the most credible young voices addressing microplastic pollution worldwide. As a speaker, he combines scientific authority with lived experience, translating urgent environmental challenges into practical, hopeful action. His work to remove microplastics from water has gained international attention, positioning him as a trusted authority on clean water, circular economy thinking and youth-led innovation.

Fionn’s journey began on the rugged coastline of West Cork, where he grew up in a family of boat builders and spent much of his childhood exploring the sea by kayak. Witnessing plastic pollution washing ashore sparked an early determination to find solutions rather than simply highlight problems. While still at school, he began building experimental tools from everyday materials to measure and collect microplastics, entering the BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition on multiple occasions. Alongside this hands-on experimentation, he developed a strong foundation in science communication as Curator of Schull Planetarium, delivering public shows designed to inspire curiosity about space and the environment. He later pursued formal scientific training at the University of Groningen, graduating with Cum Laude honours in Chemistry, and expanded his perspective through Arctic chemical oceanography field research, experiences that shaped his systems-level understanding of pollution and climate science.

Fionn’s career achievements reflect both technical rigour and global relevance. His magnet-based method for extracting microplastics from water demonstrated removal rates exceeding 85 percent for particles traditional filtration cannot capture. This breakthrough led to international recognition, including Forbes 30 Under 30, National Geographic Young Explorer, and World Economic Forum Changemaker honours. He is the Founder and CEO of Fionn & Co. LLC, scaling this technology towards real-world deployment, and a leading figure within the Green Journey Coalition, ensuring environmental responsibility remains central to innovation. His work has been endorsed by Robert Downey Jr’s Footprint Coalition, featured in a global HP campaign, and recognised with the European Patent Office Young Inventors Prize. Alongside entrepreneurial leadership, Fionn continues advanced research as a Doctoral Researcher at ETH Zürich, focusing on sustainable scientific instrumentation, while presenting RTÉ’s science series ‘What’s Next?’, bringing complex ideas to younger audiences.

As a keynote speaker, Fionn offers something rare, scientific credibility grounded in action. He speaks on microplastic pollution, clean water systems, sustainable innovation, youth leadership and communicating science for impact. These topics matter because they sit at the heart of public health, climate resilience and long-term economic sustainability. Audiences connect with his ability to move from a simple coastal observation to global stages such as the World Economic Forum, showing what is possible when curiosity meets persistence.