Student hackathon

Hackathon format

Registration is now open for our first information session on Wednesday 9 April, 17:00 – 18:00 AEST.

The hackathon will comprise of two rounds. In the first round, there will be an introductory session in which the specific hackathon problem is revealed, followed by briefings by industry experts, and a Q&A session that will assist in developing your entry.

During the following weeks, each team will work on their proposal and at the conclusion in early August, teams will be asked to submit a short, visually appealing document of no more than two A4 pages (or one A3 page) and a short three to five minute video presentation outlining their proposed solution.

Finalists from the first round will be invited to deliver an in-person pitch at Chemeca 2025 in Adelaide, South Australia.

  • This year’s competition focuses on decarbonising cement production and associated infrastructure across Australia and New Zealand and the task is to:

    Create a conceptual design to provide an alternative to current cement production with a focus on lowering carbon intensity during processing and/or increasing the efficiency of gaseous fuel infrastructure to decarbonise cement production in Australia or New Zealand.

    Click here to download the full case competition scope and problem statement.

    • 4–6 Members

    • You are welcome to include up to 2 team members from disciplines other than chemical engineering

    • At least 4 team members must be able to attend Chemeca in Adelaide, South Australia

    • Open to undergraduate, masters or PhD students (maximum 2 PhD students per team)

    • Most universities have a nominated coordinator – they may be able to assist if you are having difficulty finding enough people to form a team

    • Each team member needs to register for the conference individually. Details will be sent to finalist teams on how to register.

    • 1st Prize – Mentoring with Hackathon sponsors and AUD $500 cash prize per team member  

    • 2nd Prize – Mentoring with Hackathon sponsors and AUD $350 cash prize per team member  

    • 3rd Prize – AUD $200 cash prize per team member 

    • Hackathon information session: Wednesday 9 April, 17:00 – 18:00 AEST. Register now to attend.

    • Team entries close: Monday 26 May 2025

    • First rounds entries due: Friday 1 August 2025, 12:00PM AEST/ 2:00PM NZST

    • Finalists notified by: Friday 8 August 2025

    • Chemeca conference: 28 - 30 September 2025

    • Hackathon twist begins: Sunday 28 September 2025

    • Final pitch presentations and winner decided: Tuesday 30 September 2025

    • Chair: Emma King, GHD

    • Francois Lambrechts, GPA Engineering

    • Catherine Muldoon, IChemE

    • Benjy Lee, Future Fuel CRC representative

Meet our presenters

  • Michael Kilgariff

    Cement Concrete & Aggregates Australia

  • Benjy Lee

    Future Fuels CRC

Chemeca sessions

During Chemeca 2025, there will be further elements to the problem revealed that will need to be incorporated into the final pitch.

To assist with delivering the best possible pitch, there will be a number of relevant Chemeca sessions to attend, together with the opportunity to speak to keynote speakers and conference participants during breaks.

The hackathon will conclude with each group giving a short presentation and answering questions from a judging panel of industry experts.

Students presenting at Chemeca