Vietnam among 3 countries with startups winning prizes totaling $585,000 at Net Zero Challenge 2026

The competition is co-organized annually by investment fund Touchstone Partners and Temasek Foundation, while its 2026 edition was held in partnership with the Vietnam International Financial Center in Ho Chi Minh City.

The competition's grand finale and awards ceremony took place at Thu Thiem Riverstage in Ho Chi Minh City on Thursday.

The three first prizes, each worth VND5 billion (nearly $195,000) in cash, went to startups from Vietnam, Switzerland and India, following a competition that attracted more than 1,100 entries from 80 countries and territories.

Phuc Sang Minh Gas, Vietnam's sole representative to win a first prize, took the top award in the circular economy and waste management category with its BioCNG platform.

Headquartered in Ho Chi Minh City, the company specializes in industrial gas supply and engineering solutions, including compressed natural gas (CNG), liquefied natural gas (LNG) and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) systems.

With more than 17 years of experience, it is expanding into renewable energy through its BioCNG technology, which upgrades biogas generated from organic waste and livestock farms into high-quality fuel that can replace fossil fuels in industrial heating processes.

Switzerland's Recoal won the renewable energy and carbon removal category with a technology that converts abundant wet biomass residues into hydrochar, a form of biochar that can be permanently stored underground.

The process eliminates the need for energy-intensive preliminary drying.

India's String Bio claimed first prize in the sustainable food systems and agriculture category with its CleanRise biological product.

The solution helps rice farmers increase yields while reducing fertilizer use and cutting methane and nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from rice cultivation by up to 50 percent.

In addition to the three first prizes, the organizers and their investment partners awarded four funding and direct investment packages worth US$50,000 each.

Among the recipients, Vietnamese startup Phuc Sang Minh Gas secured an additional US$50,000 investment from Touchstone Partners, while fellow Vietnamese startup Zenwood received the same amount from Lotte Ventures.

India's Trinano Technologies was awarded US$50,000 by Sembcorp Industries, while Thailand's Living Roots secured an investment of the same amount from Monsoon Ventures.

Vietnam emerges as a destination for climate technology development

Ngo Thuy Ngoc Tu, a co-founder and general partner at Touchstone Partners, said the competition's results showed that global innovators increasingly viewed Vietnam not just as a testing market but as a place to establish and grow their businesses over the long term.

"The winning teams had demonstrated the feasibility of their technologies and would now turn them into reality on farms, in factories and in urban areas across Vietnam, with support from our funding and partner networks," she stressed.

Echoing this view, Heng Li Lang, deputy CEO and head of climate and liveability at Temasek Foundation, said close collaboration among innovators, investors, businesses and local authorities was key to helping bold climate solutions take root in Vietnam and expand across the region.