PM honours winners of sustainable energy idea contest 2026

The award ceremony of ‘Sfuron: Sustainable Energy Idea Contest 2026’ was held during the inauguration of the Bangladesh Solar Expo 2026 at Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Centre on Tuesday. 

Tarique Rahman, Prime Minister of Bangladesh, attended the ceremony as the chief guest and presented awards to the country's leading sustainable energy innovators.

The idea contest was jointly organised by the Power Division of the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources, the Sustainable and Renewable Energy Development Authority (SREDA), the European Union and German Development Cooperation through GIZ, says a press release. 

The contest aimed to promote the National Renewable Energy Development Strategy Paper (RESP) 2026-2030, which sets a target of generating 10,450 MW of renewable energy by 2030 and reducing energy consumption by 15% across households, industries and commercial establishments.

Following a multi-stage evaluation process and live presentations before an expert jury comprising representatives from the government, academia, development partners and the private sector, five innovative solutions were recognised across three competition categories.

In the Renewable Energy Category for student teams, Sanjida Afrin and Tasfia Tahiat from the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) secured first place for ‘Roddur AI’, an automated, satellite-based solar feasibility assessment platform.

Sheikh Sajidul Islam and Lamia Tabassum Naboni from the Islamic University of Technology (IUT) secured second place for ‘SurjoGhat’, a solar-powered retrofit system for diesel fishing boats and ghat-side charging infrastructure.

In the Energy Efficiency Category for student teams, Zaara Tasnuva Alam and Humayra Tabassum Turasa from the University of Dhaka won first place for the ‘TPECO Framework’, a smart campus energy conservation and automation system.

Labiba Anika and Khandaker Ruhama Amin from BUET secured second place for ‘ChhadGrid’, an urban rooftop solar and appliance clustering model built around public anchor buildings.

In the Professionals Category, Md Tipu Sultan of Multifabs Ltd won the award for an ‘Integrated Boiler Heat Recovery and CO2 Wastewater Neutralization’ industrial retrofit system.

Addressing the ceremony as the chief guest, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman commended the young innovators and professionals for their contributions, emphasising that a single innovative idea could be a “game changer” for Bangladesh.