HydroVigor Building Water Tank Micro-hydropower

Green Vigor Limited is a Hong Kong climate tech startup co-founded by Jason Li and Penney Chong, who previously worked together on a green building project. After Typhoon Saola and extreme rainfall in September 2023 exposed the limits of weather-dependent on-site renewables, the team focused on recovering energy that is wasted in building water supply systems. It is incubated at Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks and joined the Imagine H2O Asia accelerator in 2026.

Its patented HydroVigor system is a modular hydropower recycle unit installed directly in a building's water tank and connected to the inlet pipe, converting the energy of incoming water flow into electricity around the clock without changing infrastructure. Installation takes 4 to 6 hours and suits retrofits and new buildings of any tank size. The company also showcases CoolerVigor for cooling systems and an AI water management layer. Target users include government, residential, commercial, industrial, data centre, swimming pool and agricultural buildings; early deployments are at Hong Kong schools.

• In-tank micro-hydro module: installed in the building water tank and connected to the inlet pipe to recover flow energy.
• Weather-independent output: generates electricity 24/7 rather than depending on sun or wind.
• Modular and scalable: fits any tank size, for retrofits and new construction.
• Fast installation: 4 to 6 hours with no infrastructure change.
• CoolerVigor: companion system showcased for building cooling systems.
• AI water management: data and water quality management layer paired with the hydropower system.

High-rise apartment and office buildings in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City can install HydroVigor in rooftop or transfer tanks to offset common-area electricity. Hotels, hospitals and data centres with large water tanks can add on-site generation for green building credits. Schools can combine installations with STEAM education on renewable energy.

HydroVigor generates electricity 24/7 regardless of weather, and the company states one module matches the output of 62 solar panels of 500 W on a 0.49 m2 footprint versus about 120 m2 for solar. It claims a lifespan of 20 to 30 years and payback of 4 to 36 months. Installation takes 4 to 6 hours inside existing tanks with no structural changes and no waste by-products.

Dense Asian cities have little roof space for solar, while building owners face net-zero and green building targets. High-rise buildings pump water to rooftop and intermediate tanks every day, creating a steady, weather-independent energy source that distributed micro-hydro can tap without new land or structures.

Green Vigor Limited received HKSTP Ideation and HK TECH 300 Seed Fund support in 2022, won a Gold Award at the Asia International Innovative Invention Award and a patent in 2023, and entered HKSTP Incubation in 2024. In 2025 it won the Most Innovative Award at CapitaLand Sustainability X Challenge in Singapore, second place in the EQT Impact Challenge and the ReThink HK PropTech and ConTech pitch. It exhibited at CES 2026 and joined Imagine H2O Asia in April 2026.