Energy Plus wins Gold A' Design Award for mobile fuel payments

Energy Plus, a mobile fuel-payment platform by Jaeho Chung, Dana Lee and Yoo Hayeon, won Gold in the A' Design Award’s Mobile Technologies, Applications and Software Design category. The award spotlights a system that cuts fueling steps, combines payment and rewards, and aims to make refueling faster across Korea.

Why it matters: - Energy Plus tackles a common pain point in Korea’s fueling experience: too many steps at the pump. - The platform combines payment, rewards and real-time pricing in one mobile flow, which can speed transactions for drivers and improve efficiency for station operators. - The Gold A' Design Award puts the project in front of a global design audience and signals demand for practical mobile tools in offline services.

What happened: - The A' Design Award named Energy Plus a Gold winner in the Mobile Technologies, Applications and Software Design category. - The project was created by Jaeho Chung, Dana Lee and Yoo Hayeon. - The recognition was announced September 2, 2026. - Energy Plus is a mobile fuel-payment platform built for the energy retail sector.

The details: - Energy Plus reduces a traditional 12-step fueling process to four core actions. - Quick Fuel lets users set fuel type, payment method and loyalty information once, then refuel and pay with a single barcode scan at the pump. - The platform includes widgets, Shake and Pay and CarPlay integration for on-the-go use. - Real-time fuel pricing and navigation help users choose stations. - AI-powered station personas turn customer reviews into structured insights through natural language processing. - After each transaction, users receive a digital summary with payment and rewards details. - Dana Lee and Hayeon Yoo handled user experience and interface design. - The project page is available on the A' Design Award website: More information

Between the lines: - The award reflects a broader shift toward contactless commerce and mobile tools that simplify offline routines. - Energy Plus also shows how design awards are increasingly recognizing utility and workflow improvement, not just visual polish. - The platform’s mix of mobile software and station infrastructure points to a larger push to connect digital interfaces with physical retail systems.

What's next: - The Gold recognition may help the team refine the product and explore broader integrated payment and connected mobility features. - The project could also serve as a reference point for future work on transaction security, accessibility and user-centered fueling services. - The company’s announcement says the team aims to keep modernizing fueling through integrated digital solutions.