NovoViz wins the Prix BCN Innovation 2026 for its single-photon imaging technology

Neuchâtel-based NovoViz has been awarded the 17th Prix BCN Innovation for its ultra-sensitive single-photon imaging sensors, ahead of fellow finalists Cassio-P and Solar Loop, at a ceremony attended by 300 guests.

NovoViz has won the 17th Prix BCN Innovation, the CHF 150,000 award granted by the Banque Cantonale Neuchâteloise (BCN) to support innovative economic and technological projects in the canton of Neuchâtel. The ceremony took place on October 1 at the Théâtre du Passage in Neuchâtel, before an audience of 300 people.

NovoViz develops extremely sensitive imaging sensors able to detect each individual particle of light, or photon. The technology enables hypersensitive, very fast and energy-efficient cameras, notably thanks to an electronic chip integrated into the sensor that processes the image directly on board and greatly reduces the amount of data to transmit and analyze. The winning project aims to create a single sensor covering both visible light and short-wave infrared (SWIR), producing images in difficult conditions such as darkness, fog or smoke and revealing hidden defects in certain materials. Applications include industrial inspection, scientific instrumentation, security, defense and space.

The solution draws on more than ten years of research at the AQUA laboratory of EPFL in Neuchâtel, combined with NovoViz’s own work. EPFL professor Christophe Ballif, who chairs the jury, said the jury was won over by the company’s ability to turn highly advanced scientific concepts into compact, integrated and industrializable solutions, as well as by the ambition of the team, its technological lead and its first commercialized products.

Two other finalists

The two other finalists, named in June from 23 applications, each received CHF 10,000. Cassio-P, an EPFL spin-off led by Antoine Delgoffe, develops an “All-Glass” technology that miniaturizes and makes more robust lasers emitting femtosecond pulses, lasting a millionth of a billionth of a second, for industrial, medical and scientific applications. Solar Loop, led by Benjamin Strahm, aims to give photovoltaic panels a second life through a circular approach and to recover the materials they contain, with the ambition of building the first Swiss recycling plant for photovoltaic modules.

The Prix BCN Innovation aims to bring added value and support job creation in the canton, and its CHF 150,000 endowment makes it a reference among Swiss innovation competitions. Two new members joined the jury this year: technology entrepreneur Sacha Labourey and Christophe Ballif, who chairs it for the first time. At the ceremony, BCN board chair Jean Studer highlighted Neuchâtel’s historical and current vitality in innovation and the ability of local players to turn their ideas into concrete achievements.