'K-Startup Challenge 2025' Grand Final — HydroXpand Takes the Top Prize
HydroXpand
HydroXpand has won the Grand Prize (Champion of Champions) in the Startup League at ‘K-Startup Challenge 2025,’ the largest-ever competition with a record 7,377 participating teams. The company beat out competition at a ratio of 369 to 1 in South Korea’s largest startup competition, jointly operated by 10 government ministries. HydroXpand received high marks for developing a high-efficiency AEM (Anion Exchange Membrane)-based water electrolysis stack designed to address the high-cost challenges of the electrolysis process. In addition to a prize of KRW 300 million (approx. USD 210,000), the company will receive preferential treatment in the evaluation for 2026 startup support programs and other follow-up benefits.