HANOI, Vietnam — Team Helios, formed by Nanyang Technological University students Pratham Ranjan and Alok Vernekar, has won the inaugural Asian Hackathon for Green Future 2026 after outperforming 438 other teams in a pan-Asian competition focused on technology-led environmental solutions.
The Singapore-based team received the First Prize, worth USD 8,000 (INR 7.62 lakh), for its project, “An Urban Simulation Platform for Low-Carbon Infrastructure.” The results were announced during the Final Round and Awards Ceremony held at VinUniversity in Hanoi on July 4.
The competition attracted nearly 1,500 participants from 439 teams across 22 countries and territories. It was jointly organised by three not-for-profit entities under Vingroup: the “For Green Future” Foundation, VinUniversity and the Vingroup Young Technology Talent Club, known as VinTechTalent.
Organisers described it as the first pan-Asian environmental hackathon exclusively for undergraduate and master’s students to be held in Vietnam.
Platform Tests Green Projects Before Cities Invest
Team Helios developed a district-level urban simulation platform designed to help city authorities assess whether proposed green infrastructure projects are likely to deliver meaningful results before significant public resources are committed.
The platform allows users to simulate options including electric vehicle charging stations, public transport systems, solar energy installations and climate-resilient infrastructure. It then estimates their potential effects on travel behaviour, emissions, costs and the electricity grid.
The objective is to help urban planners identify projects that merit investment, avoid spending on ineffective initiatives and accelerate the transition towards low-carbon cities. In infrastructure planning, discovering a flaw on a computer screen is generally preferable to finding it after the concrete has dried.
Vietnam’s VFluxion Secures Second Prize
The Second Prize, worth USD 5,000, was awarded to Team VFluxion from the University of Information Technology, Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City.
The team comprised Nguyen The Anh, Vu The Vinh, Tran Hung Vi and Do Thi Nhu Y.
VFluxion proposed a platform to coordinate bidirectional charging and discharging between electric vehicles and urban energy systems. Under this model, EVs would not merely draw electricity from the grid but could also function as distributed energy-storage resources.
When required, stored energy in participating vehicles could be returned to the grid to help balance demand. The platform is intended to optimise energy use, improve grid stability, reduce dependence on high-emission backup power sources and protect battery longevity.
Such vehicle-to-grid systems are becoming increasingly relevant as cities add more electric vehicles while simultaneously managing rising and less predictable electricity demand.
EV Battery Tracking and Saltwater Warnings Earn Third Prizes
Two Vietnamese teams, Future Greener and ALT F4, received Third Prizes worth USD 3,000 each.
Team Future Greener developed a platform for managing electric vehicle batteries throughout their life cycle. Its members were Nguyen Nguyen Tam Nhu, Truong Dong Hung, Pham Ho Kim Ngan and Bui Hoai Ngoc from UEH.ISB Honours College at the University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City and FPT University’s Ho Chi Minh City campus.
The system tracks battery information, supports assessments of battery health and helps determine whether a used battery should be repurposed or sent for recycling.
The project addresses concerns that the rapid expansion of electric mobility could also lead to growing numbers of batteries being stored, discarded or handled without adequate safeguards. The proposed platform aims to reduce environmental risks, improve transparency in the used-EV market and encourage a circular economy within the battery industry.
Team ALT F4 won the other Third Prize for an early-warning system designed to forecast saltwater intrusion in estuarine areas.
The team comprised Nguyen Tuan Minh, Nguyen Thanh Vinh and Tran Phi Anh Nhat from the University of Science, Vietnam National University Hanoi; British University Vietnam; and Hanoi University of Science and Technology.
Its system monitors water conditions and forecasts saltwater intrusion risks between 24 and 72 hours in advance. Alerts are then sent in Vietnamese directly to farmers and local officials through their mobile phones.
The warning period could allow communities to close sluice gates, protect freshwater supplies and modify irrigation practices before salinity levels cause extensive damage. Organisers said the system could help reduce crop losses, safeguard rural livelihoods and improve resilience to climate change.
Indian Teams Among Consolation Prize Winners
Five Consolation Prizes, each worth USD 1,000, were awarded to Project Gaia from Vietnam, AVERTIX from India, ReRootSG from Singapore, Forust from Hong Kong, China, and Seekers from India.
The 30 teams that reached the final underwent a selection and training process lasting nearly three months.
During the preliminary stage, all 439 teams submitted project proposals and introductory videos. The top 30 then entered a month-long online training programme led by multidisciplinary experts, who helped participants refine their problem-solving methods and prepare for the final challenge.
At VinUniversity, the finalists participated in an intensive 36-hour hackathon. They analysed real-world environmental problems, developed solutions, built working prototypes and refined their presentations with guidance from mentors representing Vingroup’s technology companies.
Thirty-six continuous hours left little room for leisurely brainstorming, but apparently enough for urban simulations, intelligent power grids and climate-warning systems.
Vietnam Positioned as Regional Innovation Hub
Reflecting on the competition’s outcome, Dr. Thai-Ha Le, Managing Director of the “For Green Future” Foundation, Vingroup, said: “What makes us proud is that the Asian Hackathon for Green Future 2026 has shown that Vietnam can truly become a regional hub for Asia’s young talent in the journey of innovation for sustainable development. Here, cross-border ideas are not only shared, but also tested, refined, and transformed into practical solutions capable of creating lasting value for communities.”
The projects covered areas including energy, transportation, climate resilience, water management and agriculture — sectors in which environmental challenges often cross national borders and require cooperation between governments, researchers, businesses and communities.
By bringing together students from different countries and academic disciplines, the competition sought to create a regional platform where technical knowledge and varied perspectives could be converted into practical solutions.
Organisers said the Asian Hackathon for Green Future will return for a second edition in 2027, with a larger scale and wider geographical reach. The next season is expected to seek participation from more young innovators across Asia as well as other regions.
The inaugural competition ultimately highlighted a broader shift in environmental innovation: young developers are moving beyond merely identifying sustainability problems and are increasingly building tools that governments and communities could potentially use. Turning those prototypes into functioning systems will be the next — and considerably longer — hackathon.
