Energy Hackathon 2026

The Ministry of Energy is holding the first edition of the Energy Hackathon, under the theme "Ignite your ideas" and the patronage of His Royal Highness Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Minister of Energy. The hackathon is held in person at the King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center (KAPSARC) in Riyadh, with the camp running from 7 to 9 October 2026 and the closing ceremony and announcement of the winners on 13 October on the stage of the World Petroleum Congress, which the Kingdom is hosting at the same time.

Teams compete across three tracks. Operational efficiency seeks solutions that strengthen monitoring and improve maintenance through advanced analytics. Innovative vision seeks solutions that support innovation in the design of fuel stations and hydrogen storage and improve the user experience. Smart control seeks systems that address fault prediction and load management in electricity networks through real-time data analysis. The camp is preceded by four virtual workshops that build the working method, from exploring the problem to designing and prototyping the solution. The ministry awards prizes to six winning teams, along with a place in an entrepreneurial enablement stage after the hackathon.

The hackathon is aimed at students in related disciplines, engineers and researchers with an interest in innovation, and entrepreneurs working in energy and technology. Participation is free of charge. The organiser requires participants to be at least eighteen years old and to be Saudi nationals or residents of the Kingdom, the team leader to be Saudi, teams to consist of two to five people, and each team to submit a single idea within one of the published tracks, built on emerging technologies and digital solutions. The team leader and at least one member must attend throughout the hackathon to qualify for the prizes, and intellectual property rights remain with the team that owns the idea.