Vietnamese Startup Turns Pineapple Leaves into High-Value Green Material

A Vietnamese startup, Aerogel, has won the top prize at the Pitch-a-Thon competition, held as part of the Vietnam Global Innovation Forum (VGIC) 2026. The company developed a high-value green material from pineapple leaf fibers, a byproduct often discarded. The technology, based on research by Associate Professor Duong Minh Hai from the National University of Singapore (NUS), aims to produce aerogel at a low cost while retaining its desirable properties. Aerogel, also known as "frozen smoke," is an ultra-lightweight, porous solid material composed of up to 99.8% air. It is renowned for its exceptional thermal insulation capabilities and finds applications in aerospace, soundproofing, insulation, and battery development. Aerogel's representative stated that instead of using expensive traditional materials, their process combines pineapple leaf fibers with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and takes approximately 10-12 hours. The research team estimates that a one-square-meter, one-centimeter-thick ecological aerogel panel costs under $7 to produce, with a market price of around $22-$37. This is significantly lower than conventional aerogel products, which can cost over $220. The startup has also successfully developed aerogel from other byproducts, including sugarcane bagasse, coffee grounds, okra, waste paper, fabric scraps, plastic bottles, and fly ash. The technology is being transferred to businesses in various countries, including Vietnam, with the goal of creating high-value ecological materials and utilizing hundreds of millions of tons of agricultural waste generated annually. BrainLife, offering a brainwave analysis solution for stress control, secured second place, while DiaFlow, a platform for AI agent-based automation and productivity enhancement, took third. The top three teams will receive the Pitch-a-Thon Award and a commercialization support package from DragonTech (USA) and the Vietnam Business Association in Singapore (VBAS), which includes mentorship, business coaching, and market analysis. The Pitch-a-Thon competition, a highlight of the VGIC 2026, focused on evaluating startups' ability to solve practical problems with operational products, rather than just ideas. Each team had a 5-minute presentation followed by a 3-minute Q&A session. The VGIC 2026, held on July 29-30, centered on the theme "Future Technology - Vietnam's Digital Leap." The forum served as a platform for dialogue and collaboration among policymakers, businesses, startups, investors, and the global Vietnamese expert community to discuss technology strategies, resource mobilization, and the realization of impactful technological initiatives.