Romania’s YellowGrid Wins Top Prize at CleanTech Corporate Hackathon 2025 for AI-Powered Energy Solution
Bucharest, The Gulf Observer: YellowGrid, a Romanian tech startup, claimed first place and a €5,000 cash prize at the CleanTech Corporate Hackathon 2025, the region’s premier innovation event for AI-driven sustainable energy solutions. The winning team — Cătălin Stăncel, Sergiu Mureșan, Andrei Antohie, and Cristian Cioabă — impressed the jury with an intelligent energy management system designed to empower prosumers to monitor and trade surplus energy based on real-time market dynamics.
“This initiative is essential to support innovation in renewable energy and accelerate the transition towards a more decentralized and sustainable energy system,” said YellowGrid’s Cătălin Stăncel after receiving the award.
Held on May 23–24 at ENERGY EXPO 2025 in Bucharest, the hackathon attracted 130 participants and culminated in 14 finalists selected from 30 initial solution concepts. The event was organized by Techcelerator—Romania’s leading tech accelerator—together with ENERGY EXPO, Ascendis, ROTSA, and supported by the Ministry of Energy and PPC Romania.
Second place and €3,000 went to WiseWatts, co-founded by Mihaly Tordai and Mihai Sturza, for their development of an AI co-pilot that acts as a 24/7 digital peer, helping users optimize energy consumption while integrating renewable sources.
Third place was secured by Procesio, a team comprising Mihai Dârzan, Marian Voicu, Cuore Nica, Răzvan Țimboiu, and Nicolae Irimia, who earned €2,000 for presenting an automation ecosystem. Their solution, powered by DiligenticAI and large language models, extracts, structures, and summarizes data from unstructured sources, reducing operational time by up to 70% and minimizing errors.
In total, the winners received €22,000 in prizes — €10,000 in cash and €12,000 in product development resources.
Teams that received honorable mentions include:
- SoftwareMedia
- HexErgy (Italy)
- Reshape Digital
- INCAS
- Voltlink
The CleanTech Hackathon has positioned itself as a critical platform in South East Europe for nurturing innovation at the intersection of AI, energy transition, and climate tech entrepreneurship.
