GS Caltex Becomes the First Refiner to Sweep All Four Major Global Design Awards

GS Caltex (Board Chair & CEO, GS Caltex / Vice Chairman, GS Group, Saehong Hur) announced on February 25 that it has won the iF Design Award 2026 in the Service, Systems & Processes Design category for its Energy Plus app. The company was recognized for delivering an innovative user experience that enhances customer convenience through the integration of design and technology.

With this achievement, GS Caltex has become the first refining company in the world to sweep all four major global design awards. The company previously won in two categories at the Red Dot Design Award in August 2025, followed by honors at the International Design Excellence Awards (IDEA) in September and the Good Design Award in October, culminating in this year’s iF Design Award.

Established in 1954 and organized by Germany’s iF International Forum Design GmbH, the iF Design Award is a leading international design competition. Winners are selected for overall differentiation and impact across nine categories, including Product Design, Packaging Design, Branding & Communication Design, Professional Concept, Service, Systems & Processes Design, and User Experience (UX) and User Interface (UI).

GS Caltex also won awards at the Spark Design Awards and the London Design Awards last year, bringing its total to nine awards across eight global design competitions. These accolades reflect global market recognition of the company’s design capabilities and forward-looking innovation efforts and are expected to further enhance its brand value and external credibility.

Launched in 2021 to enhance convenience for customers, the Energy Plus app has since delivered a new fueling experience and benefits. In particular, its flagship in-app Pay-at-the-Pump service allows customers to pre-register their preferred fuel type, quantity, and payment methods, enabling discounts, reward points accumulation, and payment to be completed in a single step through a simple barcode scan or PIN entry at the station. The company also continues to enhance usability by promptly incorporating customer feedback into updates, including faster app performance, expanded payment integrations, streamlined coupon registration, and real-time updates on fuel prices at service stations.

In addition, GS Caltex was the first refining company in Korea to introduce Apple CarPlay and Android Auto services, enabling drivers to locate gas stations, use the Pay-at-the-Pump feature, and check coupons and points directly through their vehicle displays. The company also launched the Shake & Pay feature, allowing users to quickly activate Pay-at-the-Pump by simply shaking their smartphones. A renewed mobile widget further enables customers to access essential functions such as Pay-at-the-Pump, preferred stations, and fuel price comparison without opening the app.

These ongoing efforts were recognized in July 2025, when GS Caltex was ranked No. 1 in the gas station category for the 17th consecutive year in Korea’s National Customer Satisfaction Index. The achievement reflects the company’s continued efforts to listen to customer feedback in real time and quickly translate it into tangible improvements through digital platforms such as the Energy Plus app.

Changsoo Kim, Executive Vice President of Mobility & Marketing at GS Caltex, said, “This award reflects global recognition of our ongoing efforts to minimize customer inconvenience during refueling. We will continue to combine data and design to deliver differentiated customer experiences that set GS Caltex apart.”