Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Energy and Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman bin Abdulaziz recognised the winners of the inaugural Energy Hackathon at a closing ceremony held during the 25th WPC Energy Congress in Riyadh.

Organised by the Ministry of Energy under the minister’s patronage, the ceremony took place as part of Energy Week, with Saudi Arabia hosting the congress through October 15.

Six teams received awards after securing first and second place across three tracks: Operational Efficiency, Transformative Innovation and Intelligent Control.

The hackathon attracted more than 6,700 participants from over 40 cities across the Kingdom, forming more than 1,200 teams.

More than 35 teams, comprising over 145 innovators, progressed to the bootcamp.

The King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Centre (KAPSARC), the event’s host partner, held the bootcamp from October 7 to 9.

Participants developed their solutions through mentoring sessions with energy-sector specialists, workshops and panel discussions on the future of energy and entrepreneurship.

Following judging rounds in which teams presented their projects to specialised panels, six teams were selected to advance to the closing ceremony.

The winning teams will participate in an intensive four-week venture development program designed to prepare their projects for business incubators and accelerators and support the transition from concept to implementation.

The initiative supports the Ministry of Energy’s efforts to promote innovation and empower national talent to address energy-sector challenges, in line with Saudi Vision 2030. -OGN/TradeArabia News Service