His Royal Highness Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Minister of Energy and Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources, today handed awards to the winners of the first edition of the Energy Hackathon. The closing ceremony was organised by the Ministry of Energy under his patronage as part of the 25th WPC Energy Congress, hosted by the Kingdom until 15 October 2026 alongside Energy Week in Riyadh.

Awards went to six teams that took first and second place in the hackathon's three tracks: Operational Efficiency, Transformative Innovation and Intelligent Control.

Interest in the inaugural edition was strong: more than 6,700 competitors from over 40 Saudi cities registered, forming upwards of 1,200 teams. Over 35 teams with more than 145 innovators qualified for the hackathon bootcamp.

The King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center (KAPSARC), the host partner, ran the bootcamp from 7 to 9 October. Teams refined their ideas through daily mentoring with energy specialists, dedicated workshops and two panel discussions on the future of energy and entrepreneurship in the sector, then pitched to expert judging panels that picked the six finalists for the closing ceremony.

The winners now move to a four-week intensive bridging programme designed to get their projects ready for incubators and accelerators and turn their ideas into real applications. The ministry said the hackathon is part of its drive to foster innovation and empower national talent, in line with Saudi Vision 2030.