Véronique Gouverneur awarded Simone and Cino Del Duca Foundation Grand Prix Scientifique
Congratulations to Véronique Gouverneur, Waynflete Professor of Chemistry, who has been awarded the 2026 Grand Prix Scientifique of the Simone and Cino Del Duca Foundation.
This prestigious French award, presented by the Fondation Simone et Cino Del Duca under the auspices of the Institut de France, recognises outstanding French or European scientists and their research teams working on ambitious projects of major scientific importance. The 2026 prize theme, “Chemistry of and for the Environment”, highlights the role of chemistry in understanding environmental challenges and developing sustainable solutions.
Prof Gouverneur is recognised for pioneering research aimed at transforming the way fluorochemicals are manufactured. Fluorinated molecules play a critical role in modern society, including in pharmaceuticals, refrigerants and lithium-ion batteries. However, their production has traditionally relied on the conversion of fluorspar (CaF₂) into hydrogen fluoride (HF), a highly toxic substance with significant safety and environmental risks.
Research in the Gouverneur laboratory has led to the development of safe, sustainable and economically viable technologies that bypass hydrogen fluoride altogether. Her team has also developed innovative methods to recover fluorine from fluorochemical waste streams, including unwanted PFAS compounds, helping to establish the foundations of a circular fluorine economy.
These advances have the potential to improve worker safety, simplify industrial supply chains and significantly reduce the environmental and energy costs associated with fluorochemical production.
Commenting on the award, Professor Gouverneur said:
I wish to express my deepest gratitude to La Fondation for its unwavering support to sciences and art for the greater good, for acknowledging our contribution to fluorine chemistry, and the efforts of all my team members here in Oxford.
See the Simone and Cino Del Duca Foundation, and Le Monde, for more.
