Need

YPF Aviacion Logistics, the Seeker for this Innocentive Challenge, is seeking a solution to prevent incorrect aircraft fueling (misfueling) and also to strengthen operational safety barriers at its San Fernando airport terminal servicing facilities.

A successful solution will need to validate critical pre-fueling conditions, block dispatch when inconsistencies or missing checks are detected, and provide digital evidence, traceability, and local alerts at the point of operation.

Collaboration Opportunity

This is a Scouting Challenge seeking a partner or supplier to provide systems and expertise to solve YPF’s business challenge; the Solver is invited to submit a written proposal to be evaluated by YPF with the goal of establishing a collaborative partnership, including running a pilot followed by full implementation. YPF evaluation will consider hardware cost per fueling unit, one-time software development cost, monthly system or cloud fees, and credentials required for each user type.

The Challenge offers an award of a paid pilot with a budget of $20,000 USD. This pilot could enable the formalization of an agreement with the winning Solver and support progress toward full-scale implementation.

Submissions to this Challenge must be received by 11:59 PM (US Eastern Time) on October 19th, 2026.

Please review the later Participation Guidance section before submitting a proposal.

Log in or register your interest to start collaborating and scouting!

Seeker/Eligibility

YPF Aviacion Logistics operates an airport terminal/airplane servicing network and conducts fuel supply operations under high safety standards. The challenge focuses on the San Fernando airport terminals, where misfueling events and operational risk have been identified as particularly relevant.

YPF Aviacion is the specialized aviation division of YPF S.A. an Argentine energy company dedicated to the exploration, production, refining, distribution, and commercialization of gas, oil, and hydrocarbon derivatives. It is one of the largest companies in Argentina and operates three refineries and over 1,600 service stations across the country.

Employees of YPF are ineligible to receive an award for this Challenge.

The challenge is open to companies and organizations with demonstrated technical, operational, and financial capability to execute a pilot implementation. Proposals submitted by individuals or by organizations that do not demonstrate the technical, operational, and financial capability to execute a pilot implementation are out of scope.

Challenge

Background

In aviation fueling operations, particularly in airport terminals that serve small aircraft using fueling trucks and/or fixed dispensers (Attachment 1), there is a critical risk of misfueling when different fuel types such as Jet A-1 and AVGAS 100LL are available in the same operating environment.

A fueling error can have severe consequences, including engine failure, aircraft damage, personal injury, reputational impact, and insurance-related costs.

Current controls are mainly based on administrative and manual barriers, such as verbal confirmation, visual verification of aircraft signage, operator checks, and validation of the fueling point. Although these controls are required, they can be affected by human error, incomplete or unclear information, poor visibility, weather conditions, or operational pressure.

The current PAD application issues a warning when the aircraft registration does not match the fuel type associated with the selected fueling unit or fixed dispenser. However, this warning does not physically prevent the fueling operation from taking place. As a result, misfueling events and near misses may still occur if the warning is overlooked or if other critical checks are not properly completed.

YPF Aviacion Logistics therefore seeks to strengthen the existing process by adding a technological barrier that works before fueling begins. The objective is to ensure that fueling can only be enabled when all critical pre-dispatch validations are completed, consistent, and digitally recorded.

The Challenge

YPF Aviacion Logistics is seeking a technological barrier that can automatically validate critical conditions before fueling begins and prevent the operation from starting when there is any inconsistency, missing verification, or procedural non-compliance.

The solution must work as a permissive system that blocks fueling until all critical validations are completed and recorded, while leaving digital evidence of compliance and exceptions.

Solution Requirements

Must-haves

• Cost outline to consider hardware cost per fueling unit, one-time software development cost, monthly system or cloud fees, and credentials required for each user type.
• The solution must integrate with PAD or use PAD data as the main operational input for pre-fueling validation
• Before fueling is enabled, the solution must validate the consistency between aircraft registration, required fuel type, and the selected fueling truck or fixed dispenser
• The solution must prevent fueling from starting when mandatory data is missing, when validation has not been completed, or when any critical inconsistency is detected
• The solution must work as a permissive barrier: fueling can only be enabled after all required checks are completed, consistent, and recorded
• The system must provide a clear local alert at the point of operation when fueling is blocked, indicating the reason for the block
• The solution must allow authorized users to configure or modify validation rules, checklist items, and blocking conditions through a web-based interface
• The system must record each fueling operation, including validation results, blocks, alerts, overrides, user, date, time, reason, and triggering condition
• The solution must generate auditable digital evidence for each operation, including completed checks, operational data, validation status, and exception records when applicable
• The solution must support differentiated user roles and permissions for operators, supervisors, administrators, and audit/consultation users
• The final solution will be expected to comply with YPF cybersecurity requirements and be compatible with PAD use on mobile devices, computers, or other operational equipment
• The solution must be suitable for field operation in aircraft servicing facilities and conditions, including continuous use, adverse weather, and limited or intermittent connectivity
• Any required hardware must be appropriate for hazardous areas and operational restrictions, including explosive-proof/ATEX or sealed equipment where applicable, and restrictions on radiofrequency or wireless communications
• Your proof of successful implementation of this type of technology in the past. Any further expertise, use cases and skills you or your organization have in relation to your proposal

Nice-to-haves

- The solution may include artificial intelligence or computer vision to assist with validation of signage, fueling point, or other critical environmental conditions

- It may include a centralized dashboard for monitoring operations, blocks, alerts, overrides, and pilot performance

- It may include automatic reports exportable for operational analysis, audits, and KPI tracking

- It should allow checklist points to be added, modified, or removed if regulatory or operational requirements change, without disrupting system operation.

Out of Scope / Things to Avoid

- Proposals submitted by individuals

- Proposals from organizations that do not demonstrate the technical, operational, and financial capability to execute a pilot implementation

- Proposals that do not include a clear implementation approach, deployment capability, and the resources required to support the pilot phase (which could involve a credible local sub-contractor).

TRL range

Solutions with Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs) 7-9 are invited.

This Scouting Challenge has the following features:

1. YPF will evaluate your submission to determine their interest for further business and collaboration discussions, including launching a $20,000 USD pilot, followed by full implementation.
2. The terms of the contract (including scope of work, tasks and duration) for any winner will be determined directly with YPF. The monetary value of any additional contract will vary depending on the amount of work to be delivered and the agreed upon time frame.

Your Submission

Please log in and register your interest to complete the submission form.

The submitted proposals must be written in English or Spanish and can include:

1. Participation type – you will first be asked to confirm that you are participating in this challenge, as a Solver Organization.

2. Solution Level - the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of your proposal.

3. Solution Overview - detail the features of your proposal and how they address the SOLUTION REQUIREMENTS (500 words, there is space later to add more in the summary field, and attach supporting data, diagrams, etc).

4. Implementation - explain the implementation approach, deployment capability, and the resources required to support the pilot phase (which could involve a credible local sub-contractor) (up to 500 words).

5. Costs - Specify estimated implementation costs (hardware cost per fueling unit, one-time software development cost, monthly system or cloud fees, and credentials required for each user type) and a brief timeline (Gantt chart or similar) showing key phases (up to 500 words).

6. Experience - Your proof of successful implementation of this type of technology in the past. Any further expertise, use cases and skills you or your organization have in relation to your proposal (up to 500 words).

7. Executive Summary - Describe your solution briefly (up to 500 words).

Participation Guidance

1. Submission Close Date: Submissions to this Challenge must be received by 11:59 PM (US Eastern Time) on October 19th, 2026.
2. Late submissions: Late submissions will not be considered.
3. Multiple submissions, One Maximum: In case of multiple submissions by the same Solver, only one submission – the final one submitted – will be considered. Any other submissions will be deleted prior to evaluation.
4. Submission form and attachments: Your submission will be evaluated by the evaluation team first reviewing the information and content you have submitted at the submission form, with attachments used as additional context to your form submission. Submissions relying solely on attachments will receive less attention from the evaluation team.
5. Evaluation notification steps: After the Challenge submission close date, YPF will review and select the winning solutions according to the timeline in the Challenge header. Everyone who submits a proposal will be notified about the status of their submissions.
6. Use of AI: Please note that any submissions produced solely with generative AI are not of interest.
7. Learn more: Find out more about participation in Innocentive Challenges.