Is an electric vehicle (EV) worth it if you cannot charge it at home? This was the question tackled by a team of graduates from the Faculty of Information Technology at the Czech Technical University in Prague (FIT CTU), competing under the name IOC at the international GreenHack 2026 hackathon. Their application, which recommends suitable charging locations based on a user's regular travel patterns and evaluates the time and financial impacts of switching to an EV, impressed the expert jury enough to earn 3rd place among 23 competing teams from across Europe.
This year's hackathon theme was “AI and Sustainability: Friend or Foe?”. Over 90 participants spent 24 hours developing prototypes focused on energy, building renovation, electromobility, crisis management, and the responsible use of artificial intelligence.
The IOC team, consisting of FIT CTU graduates Ing. Matouš Kulhan, Ing. Vojtěch Müller, and Ing. Matěj Frnka, developed an application designed to help people determine whether an electric vehicle is a suitable choice for them, even if they do not have access to home charging.
Users enter the locations they regularly visit during a typical week. The system then analyzes their travel habits and suggests optimal locations and times for charging an EV. At the same time, it estimates potential financial savings compared to operating a conventional internal combustion engine vehicle and calculates how much additional time the user would spend using public charging stations. The result is a practical decision-support tool that helps people evaluate the transition to electric mobility based on concrete data and their individual needs.
“We really enjoyed the hackathon. In addition to the interesting challenge, data, and mentoring, we had the opportunity to meet many inspiring people from across Europe. We are even more pleased that, in strong competition from 23 teams, we managed to secure 3rd place,” said Vojtěch Müller.
The project’s authors do not rule out continuing the development of the application after the hackathon. However, they note that bringing the solution into real-world use would require cooperation with partners from the electromobility and innovation sectors.
GreenHack is an annual hackathon focused on finding technological solutions for a more sustainable future. This year's event took place on June 5–6, 2026, at the 42 Prague campus in Prague.
