The awards ceremony for the 2026 Net Zero Tech International Contest, jointly organized by the TECO Technology Foundation and National Taiwan University, was held on the evening of August 19 at Mandarin Oriental, Taipei. President Lai Ching-te attended the ceremony and delivered remarks encouraging outstanding young innovators from around the world.
This year’s competition brought together 267 teams from around the globe, with the Top 40 finalists competing entirely in English for three NT$1 million championship prizes. The Interdisciplinary Grand Championship went to a team from National Central University for its project, “Multiscale Design of a HEO-Catalyzed Ammonia Cracking Reactor and SOFC Green Power System Augmented by Digital Twin Visualization.” The Energy Category Championship was awarded to a joint team from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) and National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University for “High Efficiency, High Power Density, Fast Response Power Supply for Semiconductor RF Power.” The Sustainability Category Championship went to a joint team from the University of Melbourne and RMIT University for “Energy from Thin Air: Sovereign, Resilient e-Natural Gas.” The three championship teams transformed the challenges of energy transition, climate governance, and sustainable development into practical technologies with strong future potential. Their achievements also underscored Taiwan’s growing role as a global hub where young innovators can come together to advance net-zero technologies and exchange groundbreaking ideas.
President Lai delivered his remarks in English, encouraging the young participants from around the world and commending their efforts to shape humanity’s future and combat climate change. He noted that while AI is developing rapidly and Taiwan has significant strengths in semiconductor industry integration, these advances are also driving greater electricity consumption. Looking ahead, Taiwan will need to combine new thinking with technological solutions to develop internationally competitive net-zero technologies. Only by advancing AI and net-zero technologies in tandem, he said, can the world secure a sustainable future amid climate change. The President’s remarks further connected the technological achievements of these young researchers with Taiwan’s national net-zero policies and international responsibilities. He also expressed his appreciation to the organizers, emphasizing that the competition is not merely about selecting winners, but also serves as an important platform for Taiwan to demonstrate its policy direction, research capabilities, and commitment to international collaboration.
Morris Li, Chairman of TECO Electric & Machinery Co., Ltd., said that the competition has attracted not only faculty members and students from Taiwanese universities, but also universities and young scientists from around the world. Bringing innovative technologies from different countries to Taiwan and selecting winners, he stressed, is not the ultimate purpose of the competition. More importantly, Taiwan aims to leverage its strengths in net-zero education, research, and industry to serve the global community and accelerate the development of net-zero technologies and industries worldwide. Li expressed his hope that the competition would become a starting point for stronger connections between academia and industry, enabling a continuous flow of talent and technologies and helping promising solutions developed through the competition take root and create impact around the world.
Dr. S.K. Lee, Chairman of the TECO Technology Foundation, placed the international competition within the broader context of the Foundation’s long-standing commitment to cultivating science and technology talent. He noted that the Foundation was established in 1993 under the vision of “Advancing Technology and Humanities.” Technology competitions were introduced in 2006, and over the past 21 years their themes have evolved from Robot Tech and Green Tech to today’s Net Zero Tech. More than 10,000 university faculty members and students have participated over the years, with many former contestants subsequently pursuing careers in robotics, green energy, and net-zero-related industries. With the message that “Making the finals is already a win,” Lee encouraged the Top 40 finalists to make the most of the opportunity for international exchange and to view the competition as the beginning of their next chapter of collaboration.
This year, 267 teams from 79 universities, involving 1,144 faculty members and students, joined the competition. The teams represented 20 countries, with participants from 34 nationalities. Among them, 120 teams competed in the Energy Category and 147 in the Sustainability Category. For the first time, the competition removed the distinction between the “Taiwan Competition” and “International Competition,” grouping teams solely by technology field. English was used throughout the entire competition, challenging participants not only to demonstrate their technical expertise but also to communicate their innovations effectively on the global stage.
