Record-Breaking Global Response as TERA-Award Closes for Applications

April 14, 2025 -- The 4th TERA-Award Smart Energy Innovation Competition, organised by The Hong Kong and China Gas Company Limited (Towngas) and empowered by Full Vision Capital, has officially closed for applications as of 9 April 2025, 23:59 PDT, drawing a record-breaking 785 applications from 76 countries and regions—the highest in the competition’s history. The surge highlights accelerating global momentum in smart energy and climate tech innovation.
 
Submissions spanned six key innovation categories, with Renewable Energy emerging as the most popular focus area. The diversity of proposals—ranging from green fuels and hydrogen to smart systems and sustainable infrastructure—demonstrates the global drive toward carbon neutrality and energy transformation.
 
Nearly three-quarters of submissions came from outside of China, underscoring the award’s international reach. Notable contributions were received from the United States (12.5%), United Kingdom (6.2%), and India (8.7%), with strong representation also from Europe, the Middle East, and the Americas. Applications from China (18.1%) and Hong Kong (5.5%) also made up a significant share of the overall total.
 
Mr Alan Chan Ying-lung, Executive Chairman of the TERA-Award Organising Committee, remarked that the surge in global participation reaffirms the competition’s position as a premier platform for energy innovation. He underscored the competition’s proven track record in helping emerging innovators scale, not only through funding—including a grand prize of USD1 million—but also by fostering long-term collaborations across the energy ecosystem.
 
He cited alumni such as i2Cool, which closed its Series A funding round last year with support from Towngas to accelerate the global rollout of its passive cooling technology. The company’s electricity-free cooling coatings are now being deployed in a growing number of international projects. Another success story, Luquos Energy, advanced into industrial-scale development after receiving Towngas backing, launching a demonstration project for its sulfur-based flow battery system in Shenzhen.
 
With the submission phase now complete, the competition moves into the judging stage, led by Chief Judge Professor Cui Yi, a globally renowned scientist and Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at Stanford University. The expert panel will evaluate entries based on technological innovation, feasibility, scalability, and potential for global impact.
 
Winners will be announced in July 2025, with top teams gaining the opportunity to connect with investors and industry leaders, pursue strategic partnerships, and accelerate commercialisation through the TERA-Award platform.
 
For more information, visit www.tera-award.life
 
About the TERA-Award Energy Innovation Competition
The TERA-Award Energy Innovation Competition, organised by Towngas and empowered by Full Vision Capital, aims to discover and develop innovative technologies and solutions in climate technology. It promotes zero-carbon technology development by bringing together global innovative technological forces to advance climate technology innovation and application. The competition serves as an international acceleration platform, matching climate technology entrepreneurs with investors and application scenario providers to help early-stage climate technology companies grow rapidly and drive the realisation of a green, smart, and sustainable future.
 

- END -

 
 
For media enquiries, please contact:
The Hong Kong and China Gas Company Limited

Ms May Tam
Assistant Corporate Affairs Manager
Tel: 2963 3475 / 9192 0062
Email: [email protected]

Ms Kara Kwong
Assistant Corporate Affairs Manager Tel: 2963 3497 / 6698 3357
Email: [email protected] 

Mr Julius Chow
Senior Corporate Affairs Officer
Tel: 2963 3471 / 6969 1360
Email: [email protected]

If you detect any issues, problems, or errors in this press release content, kindly contact [email protected] to notify us (it is important to note that this email is the authorized channel for such matters, sending multiple emails to multiple addresses does not necessarily help expedite your request). We will respond and rectify the situation in the next 8 hours.