Futurebuild remains one of the few places where we see the full retrofit ecosystem come together, from policymakers and clients to contractors, innovators and technology providers. Attendees were galvanised by the publication of this year’s Warm Homes Plan and the record investment in the retrofit sector it signalled.

But while the sector continues to generate new ideas, solutions and technologies, a familiar challenge remains: how do we turn innovation into something that is actually deployed at scale?

This year, the NHDG’s activity at Futurebuild focused on addressing exactly that, delivering quality through stronger coordination, clearer pathways and greater confidence across the system.

From discussion to delivery

In the wake of the Warm Homes Plan and the many complex questions it raises for the system, the NHDG aimed to move the conversation forward by creating space for more focused, practical discussion on some of the key questions it raised for our industry.

We curated a series of roundtables at the NHDG Pavilion aligned to our core pillars: policy, skills and innovation. These sessions brought together a broad mix of stakeholders, including NHDG members, combined and local authorities, housing associations and DESNZ, to explore the conditions needed to deliver retrofit at scale.

Across these discussions, a consistent message emerged: the challenge is not a lack of activity, but a lack of alignment across policy, funding, supply chains and delivery.

From a policy perspective, conversations highlighted the importance of long-term certainty and clearer direction, particularly around future schemes, EPC reform and the role of different funding streams. Uncertainty is making it difficult to plan effectively, limiting both public and private investment and creating a reliance on short-term, low-risk delivery approaches rather than long-term system building.

There was also strong consensus that retrofit delivery is currently too fragmented. Different funding mechanisms, timelines and rules are creating inefficiencies on the ground, reinforcing the need for more joined-up, area-based delivery models and stronger governance at regional level. Proposals in the Warm Homes Plan to merge funding streams is in this context, a critical step.

Alongside this, skills and supply chain capacity emerged as a critical constraint. While there is growing demand, the consensus is that the sector lacks the workforce depth and confidence needed to scale. Without a visible, long-term pipeline of work and clearer procurement strategies, organisations are holding back on investing in training and capability, creating a cycle that continues to limit delivery.

The role of procurement and scheme design was also a key focus. There is a clear need for simpler, more consistent frameworks, alongside greater local flexibility to reflect different housing stock and market conditions. Quality must be embedded from the outset, from procurement through to delivery and evaluation, rather than treated as a compliance exercise.

The same challenges are evident in how innovation is brought into delivery, shaping how new approaches are adopted and scaled. While new technologies and solutions continue to emerge, a deeply embedded culture of risk aversion persists, particularly at decision-making level. New solutions are still often perceived as difficult to justify or integrate, limiting opportunities to test and scale them.

Even where innovation is successfully trialled, a further challenge lies in moving from pilot to programme. The sector has demonstrated its ability to test new solutions, but lacks consistent pathways to scale, with complexity across stakeholders, governance and coordination continuing to slow progress and limit confidence in new approaches.

The Big Retrofit Challenge

The Big Retrofit Challenge returned to the National Retrofit Conference stage this year, providing a route for innovators to showcase their solutions directly to NHDG members and a wider audience of industry professionals.

Delivered in collaboration with NHDG, Innovate UK and Futurebuild, the Challenge continues to play an important role in connecting emerging technologies with the organisations responsible for delivering retrofit at scale. This year’s cohort reflected the breadth of innovation across the sector, with solutions ranging from advanced insulation systems and skirting board heating to air quality and thermal monitoring technologies.

Kestrix, DiscreteHeat, Healthy Air Technology, Wrapt, IoT Solutions Group and Transform-ER each delivered exciting pitches to a panel of judges, demonstrating both the diversity and maturity of solutions now entering the market.

However, the value of the Challenge extends beyond the stage. It provides a structured opportunity for innovators to engage directly with delivery organisations, helping to bridge the gap between product development and real-world application.

As last year’s Challenge demonstrated, these connections can support progression from initial introduction through to supply chain integration. IndiNature’s engagement with United Infrastructure, which has developed into senior-level discussions around deployment, is one such example.

In this context, the Challenge plays a wider role in supporting the sector’s ability to adopt and scale innovation, not just by raising awareness, but by improving market access, building confidence, and creating clearer pathways into delivery.

The 2026 cohort is already beginning to build these connections, with innovators engaging directly with NHDG members to explore how their solutions could be applied in practice.

Looking ahead

If there is one takeaway from this year’s Futurebuild, it’s that the sector isn’t lacking with ideas, it needs to create and refine the systems to enable us to scale delivery and meet the ambition of the Warm Homes Plan.

Addressing these challenges will require a more coordinated, system-wide approach, from how projects are specified and governed, to how data is used to build confidence and support decision-making.

For the NHDG, this reinforces the importance of bringing together industry, policymakers and delivery organisations, not just to share ideas, but to address the conditions that determine whether those ideas are adopted.

Ultimately, the success of retrofit will not be defined by the ideas we generate, or even the discussions we have, but by the extent to which we have the right systems and processes in place to deliver them.