PETRONAS has launched its inaugural Race2Decarbonise hackathon, a global platform to crowdsource decarbonisation solutions that can accelerate its Net Zero Carbon Emissions by 2050 (NZCE 2050) pathway, leveraging public-private collaboration and cross-industry partnerships.
Race2Decarbonise invites individuals and organisations worldwide to submit ideas that can deliver emissions reduction results within two years in the areas of stationary combustion, flaring and venting, as well as fugitive emissions relevant to PETRONAS’ operations. Beyond these areas, proposals and ideas that challenge the norm in reducing emissions would also be welcomed. More than 30 submissions have been received since its launch on 11 November 2022.
PETRONAS President and Group Chief Executive Officer, Datuk Tengku Muhammad Taufik said, “PETRONAS developed this platform to provide opportunities to showcase bright ideas and to surface future-defining as well as game-changing solutions that can accelerate us towards our net zero future ambitions.
“The potential solutions from this hackathon also create an additional effective avenue to expand our innovation funnel, diversify our expertise, and pool the best minds to address the immediate issue of reducing carbon emissions,” he added.
Race2Decarbonise was officiated by PETRONAS Senior Vice President of Project Delivery and Technology, Datuk Bacho Pilong in the presence of industry leaders and representatives from among the hackathon’s collaborators.
“Navigating the imminent and inevitable energy transition will need stronger collaboration and participation from the industry and society at large. As partners in progress, all of us share the same aspiration – to make an impact that is positive and purposeful, for the people and the planet. We are prepared to experiment, and we want you to be with us,” he said.
Submissions will undergo a stringent selection process by a panel of experts from across the industry and will be assessed in terms of the solutions’ veracity, feasibility and impact to carbon abatement.
Shortlisted participants will be invited to a hackathon week in Kuala Lumpur in March 2023 and will stand a chance to win cash prizes amounting to USD660,000 (RM2.9 million). The champion of Race2Decarbonise will be rewarded with a grand prize of USD150,000 (RM659,000) as well as access to mentoring from industry experts and the opportunity to mature their technologies with PETRONAS.
