19-year-old Earth Prize Global Winner Tomáš Čermák selected for Forbes Czechia's 30 Under 30

• Tomáš Čermák, Global Winner of The Earth Prize 2025, has been selected for Forbes Czechia’s 30 Under 30
• Tomáš won The Earth Prize 2025 together with his teammate Anna for their solution, PURA, which tackles antibiotic pollution and resistant bacteria in water systems
• Tomáš’s Earth Prize win has been followed by recognition by WIRED, Forbes and the European Commission's President

Tomáš Čermák, Global Winner of The Earth Prize 2025, has been selected for Forbes Czechia’s 30 Under 30 - the prestigious annual list recognising the country’s most influential young leaders under the age of 30.

Published by Forbes Česko, the list spotlights exceptional talent shaping the future of business, science and technology, and is widely followed by entrepreneurs, investors and academic institutions across the country. Selection marks a significant milestone for Tomáš, whose work progressed from national recognition to a wider international stage following his participation in The Earth Prize.

Tomáš Čermák, an autism advocate and now a student at Imperial College London, is also the founder of non-profit STEM_HUB supporting more than 6,000 students and aspiring scientists. He took part in The Earth Prize 2025 alongside his teammate Anna Podmanická, a prize-winning young scientist from Slovakia. Together, the duo invented PURA, a breakthrough water purification technology that uses light and plasma to remove pollutants and combat antibiotic resistance - one of the world’s most urgent but often overlooked environmental threats.

Designed to address contamination from hospitals, farms and industrial wastewater, PURA tackles the growing presence of antibiotics and resistant bacteria in water systems, a challenge projected to claim up to 10 million lives annually by 2050. Drawing on their individual research, Tomáš and Anna combined photocatalysis with cold plasma (AC corona) to create a novel two-step system capable of removing both chemical pollutants and antibiotic-resistant bacteria. While each technology has been studied independently, PURA’s integrated approach is entirely new.

Taking part in The Earth Prize connected Tomáš and Anna to the mentors, training and support to take PURA to the next level. In April 2025, PURA was selected as Regional Winner for Europe, before being voted Global Winner by nearly 16,000 members of the public worldwide. This win marked a milestone as the first Global Winner to come from Czechia, Slovakia or Europe as a whole - garnering coverage in EuroNews, Forbes Czechia, Forbes US, among others. In September 2025, the duo were referenced by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in her State of the Union address as examples of innovative young Europeans. Later that year, Tomáš was named one of WIRED Czechia’s Game Changers in Science.

The Earth Prize is the world’s largest environmental competition and ideas incubator for 13–19-year-olds, empowering young people to tackle climate challenges with mentorship, learning resources, and shared $100,000 in funding. Since 2021, it has reached over 21,000 students across more than 169 countries and territories, awarding over $500,000 to support real-world solutions. Each year, seven Regional Winners are selected by an expert jury, before a global public vote determines the Global Winner. Earth Prize alumni have been featured in Forbes, Business Insider, HuffPost and more.

On his recent Forbes recognition, Tomáš commented:

Peter McGarry, Founder of The Earth Foundation, also added: