Big Innovation Pitch 2022

BIG INNOVATION PITCH

The Big Innovation Pitch Returned to Futurebuild 2022

Searching for innovative products and technologies that are solving problems, addressing the climate emergency and enabling the built environment industry to achieve a net zero future.

This year we have been delighted with the entries to the Big Innovation Pitch – these can all be seen in the Innovation Gallery. After reviewing over 90 submissions, the judging panel has shortlisted six finalists who pitched live at Futurebuild 2022.

The winner of the Big Innovation Pitch 2022 was Sunamp with their Thermino Thermal Storage Battery for Domestic Hot Water.

The JUDGES

CHAIR & JUDGE
DR OLIVER JONES

Research Director at Ryder Architecture

Michael LYNCH

Legal Counsel, Restructuring, at NatWest Group

NATASHA BOULDING

CEO & Co-founder at Sphera

CHRIS HALL

Group Managing Director of Acivico and Managing Director of APSL Group

BIG INNOVATION PITCH CRITERIA

In their pitch the finalists proved to the judges the following:

How is it innovative?
How’s going to help achieve net-zero?
How’s it going to change the industry?
Does the innovation support the circular economy
Anything to do with biotech?
How is the material advanced?
Does it benefit nature?
Extractive or regenerative?
Conducted a whole life carbon approach?

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH

SHORTLISTED FOR THE BIG INNOVATION PITCH: BIOTECTURE

PlantBox Living Hoarding

New to the market, our revolutionary PlantBox system is a freestanding, stackable wall system that has no structural load on the hoardings. Ideal for the construction industry, it offers all the benefits of an ivy screen but with more flexibility and green credentials. It can be quickly erected, dismantled and reinstalled on your next site.

FIND OUT MORE

SHORTLISTED FOR THE BIG INNOVATION PITCH: ISOHEMP

HEMPRO SYSTEM

The Hempro system for a 100% hemp construction. A mix of water, chalk & hemp result in hempcrete blocks used to renovate & construct buildings. A carbonfree, 100% natural solution with unparalleled insulating properties for a clean home & planet.

FIND OUT MORE

SHORTLISTED FOR THE BIG INNOVATION PITCH: POMB

poly-organic mycelium blend (POMB)

POMB is a composite material, whose principal component is mycelium biocomposite: a relatively flame-retardant substance made by growing fungi on woody substrates, such as straw, or the fibrous digestate produced by anaerobic digestion. Our plan is to grow fungi on farmer’s land through a win-win coproduction model.

Find out more

SHORTLISTED FOR THE BIG INNOVATION PITCH: SDS LIMITED

SDS ‘Intellistorm’ intelligent rainwater attenuation and recycling system

SDS’s ‘Intellistorm®’ rainwater recycling system enables a site to maximise rainwater reuse and minimise discharge to drain, operating entirely under its own control.
This is enabled by storing and using collected rainwater for non-potable applications such as toilet flushing, irrigation, vehicle cleaning, manufacturing and cooling systems, whilst creating storage capacity for stormwater that might otherwise overwhelm and flood the drainage system.

Find out more

SHORTLISTED FOR THE BIG INNOVATION PITCH: SUNAMP

Thermino thermal storage battery for domestic hot water

Sunamp’s Thermino thermal batteries make homes more energy-efficient and sustainable by efficiently storing heat to deliver instant, high flow-rate hot water when needed while reducing carbon emissions.

Find out more

SHORTLISTED FOR THE BIG INNOVATION PITCH: THERMULON

Thermulon Aerogel

Thermulon’s aerogel insulation is engineered to fight the climate and fire-safety emergencies. Produced in powder form, Thermulon’s materials can be integrated to building products like plasters, renders and panels, delivering innovative, highly-insulating products.

Find out more

EPISODE TWO

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In this episode, you can listen to Maria Smith, Director of Sustainability & Physics at Buro Happold in conversation with Martin Hurn and Dr Oliver Jones. Maria talks through the ten key principles from the latest publication from the RIBA and Architects Declare and shares their opinion on why the built environment has the capability to accelerate our delivery of a net zero future and what we need to do next.

pioneers, disruptors & Innovators

Tune in to FutureX

Tune in to the FutureX series of podcasts and hear Martin Hurn and Dr Oliver Jones in conversation with the brightest minds, the disruptive thinkers and most exciting innovators.

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JOIN THE BIG INNOVATION PITCH ON THE MAIN ARENA STAGE: 02 MARCH FROM 16.30 - 17.15

Exhibitor enquiry

Exhibit

Speak to a member of the team to enquire about exhibiting at Futurebuild 2023.

BOOK TO EXHIBIT

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On Demand

Watch on-demand

Futurebuild 2022 is now available on demand. Relive the content from this year and hear from industry experts and leading associations.

WATCH ON-DEMAND

It’s been an extremely well attended show and the second day was extremely busy. It’s been great to get back to the event and meet with our customers and clients to show them about what’s happening in the future for us. There’s been a good customer mix to the stand and we’ve also seen end-users interested in the technology that’s started conversations and given them a vision for the future.

We’ve had a lot of interest in the stand, both with businesses and private individuals. In general, it’s been a very positive show and we already booked for next year while at the show.

We’ve had a lot of very focused conversations at Futurebuild, which is fantastic to see at a show that promotes net zero and champions everything about sustainability. We’ve seen a mix of people to come to the stand, including students, which has been heart-warming for the industry. We also work principally with large asset owners, so we’ve had great conversations with teams in this area.

We came to Futurebuild for a number of reasons. One is collaboration — we’ve been out for two years because of the pandemic so we’ve got a chance to see people face to face and see how passionate they are about certain topics in the industry.

Futurebuild has a really interesting mix of innovators and very traditional building materials companies, so it’s a really good show for us as a data analytics expert in the industry. Aico is traditionally known as a fire alarm sensor manufacturer, so we’ve come to the show to raise awareness that we do operate in this area and we are using sensors to collect data about the environment, such as how heating systems work.

Futurebuild has been great. We’ve found that the exhibits have drawn relevant high-quality visitors to the stand who had some really great questions. This is when we have to take action. It’s important for us to show what’s happening right now and what the industry is working on that lets us deliver net zero and decarbonised concrete.

The show has been very good and busy, and we’ve met different profiles of people each day — for example on day two we met a lot of installers who are involved in the trade. We have a spread of technologies on the stand, which have all been busy, so we’ve been able to talk across a range of topics, such as batteries, PV and heat pumps. It’s a nice statement of people’s journeys towards net zero.

After two years of us being away, it’s been a fantastic event. Our company is just moving to the UK, so we’ve made a large impact with hundreds of leads and dozens of connections. If you’re a company in the UK and are the cutting edge of the green tech revolution, you really need to be at Futurebuild 2023.

It’s our first time at Futurebuild and it’s been absolutely fantastic — we haven’t stopped. We’re a new company and it was our first exhibit, so it’s been great to meet people from every side. Every day has been different and we’ve had a lot of conversations, for example with architects on classification and regulation, as well as hemp farmers visiting to find out more about sustainability. The event shows that change can happen.

Futurebuild has been really busy, and we’ve had a constant flow of really good enquiries on the stand — we’ve already booked for next year. We’ve had a wide range of visitors, including cladding installers, architects, lecturers, developers who build traditionally who are now looking at building in different ways.

The buzz and the footfall here is really good. We’ve had a lot of positive conversations as a lot of attendees are early on in the design stage so want to get information from us.