Hollywood star-backed Cork scientist European award finalist for work on ocean plastics

Fionn Ferreira from Ballydehob is one of three finalists in the prestigious Young Inventors Prize for his invention to remove microplastics from water

Fionn Ferreira showing his Visible Light Spectrometer. He invented a method to remove plastic pollution in water by using ferrofluid (iron powder) to magnetically capture the micro-plastics in the water.

A young Cork scientist backed by Hollywood legend Robert Downey Jr is a finalist for one of Europe's most prestigious awards after inventing a way to remove tiny plastic particles from water.

Fionn Ferreira, a 22-year-old Irish chemist from Ballydehob, is one of three finalists for the second edition of the Young Inventors Prize, awarded by the European Patent Office (EPO).