Richten Energy Becomes Taiwan’s First Startup Named to AI30 Watchlist as It Moves to Expand into the U.S. Market

Economic Daily News

As the global transition to net zero accelerates and energy systems are being reshaped, AIH Foundation signed a memorandum of understanding on March 19 with Richten Energy Co., Ltd. and the Taiwan Smart Net-Zero Building Alliance during the 2026 Smart City Summit & Expo and the 2050 Net Zero City Expo. The partnership marks a formal step toward connecting Taiwan’s net-zero building technologies with international city markets and global capital networks.

Deputy Minister Tung Chien-hung of Taiwan’s Ministry of the Interior said the building sector will be a critical part of Taiwan’s path toward its 2050 net-zero target. He noted that buildings must move beyond energy efficiency and begin to play a more active role in energy generation. By introducing façade-based colored solar PV and other building-integrated energy technologies, buildings can become important carriers of urban energy.

Tung said the new collaboration brings together policy demonstration projects, industrial technology and international platform resources. It also shows that Taiwan’s net-zero building sector is moving from pilot demonstrations and technical validation toward commercialization and global market expansion.

Meng Yi-chao, secretary-general of the Taiwan Smart Net-Zero Building Alliance, said the alliance serves as a platform linking policy and industry. In recent years, it has worked to help government policy move from planning to real-world implementation, while bringing together high-quality Taiwanese technology companies in the smart net-zero building sector. Through technology upgrades, the alliance aims to improve building energy performance and reduce carbon emissions.

Meng said holding the MOU press event at the Ministry of the Interior’s Net-Zero Vision Pavilion was especially meaningful, as it showed that Taiwan’s net-zero technologies are gaining international visibility. He added that, through AIH’s international platform and resources, Taiwan’s solar PV, energy storage, coating, insulation and related technologies can reach overseas markets and demonstrate the strength of Taiwan’s industrial capabilities to a wider global audience.

Richten Energy CEO Weili Hsueh expressed special thanks to the Ministry of the Interior and the Architecture and Building Research Institute for their long-term support of innovative technologies. He said their support has provided opportunities for technology validation and demonstration in real-world settings, allowing Taiwanese-developed technologies to be seen, tested and recognized by international city representatives and market institutions.

“This is not only an opportunity for a company to expand overseas,” Hsueh said. “It is also an important moment for Taiwan’s net-zero building technologies to be recognized again by the global market.”

AIH said the core purpose of the partnership is to turn building decarbonization technologies that have already completed policy demonstrations and field validation into city-scale solutions that can be scaled, financed and exported.

Asia Innovation Hub, or AIH, under AIH Foundation, is an Asian partner of the Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center. AIH has also added Richten Energy to its AI30 Index Study watchlist, making it the first Taiwanese startup to be included. The selection indicates that Richten Energy has entered the evaluation scope of international innovation platforms and capital market networks.

AIH CEO Shu-min Chen said that after six months of systematic research and review, AIH selected Richten Energy as the first Asian company to enter its U.S. market training and connection program. The program will help the company build links with innovation ecosystems in San Francisco and New York.

“The global market is not looking for a single solar PV product,” Chen said. “It is looking for city-scale solutions that can integrate buildings, energy and ESG-driven carbon reduction. Richten Energy has already shown the ability to move from technology development toward urban-system integration.”

Richten Energy’s technology has completed validation at the Materials Testing Center of the Architecture and Building Research Institute under the Ministry of the Interior. The work has helped establish an application model that is measurable, verifiable and replicable, laying the foundation for the technology to move from policy demonstration to broader market deployment.

In both its application model and business model, Richten Energy uses colored solar PV technology and façade-based installation methods to turn building exteriors into surfaces that can generate electricity and support carbon reduction. By combining green electricity revenue, carbon-credit value and site-based economic opportunities, the company is building a model that transforms buildings into long-term energy assets.

AIH said climate technology companies that combine technology, real-world sites and financial logic are exactly the type of companies now attracting attention from international capital markets.

This year’s Smart City Summit & Expo brought together city representatives from many countries. Richten Energy’s related technologies have already attracted attention from several international delegations and have entered evaluation stages in multiple markets.

AIH said it will help Richten Energy accelerate connections with overseas cities and international resources, supporting Taiwan’s net-zero building technologies as they enter the global infrastructure upgrade market.

AIH added that Taiwan now has the ability to turn “policy demonstration plus technology validation” into exportable international solutions. As the world continues its energy transition and ESG transformation, these technologies are expected to become important infrastructure assets for cities competing in the next stage of sustainable development.