Knowledge Centre

Industrial laundries play a vital role across healthcare, hospitality and industry, but they are also under increasing pressure to reduce energy use, lower carbon emissions and improve operational efficiency. Rising energy costs and sustainability requirements mean the sector needs practical, commercially viable innovations that can be adopted in real working environments. This was the focus of the Industrial Laundry Thermal Energy challenge, delivered through Innovate UK Business Connect’s Innovation Exchange (iX) programme in partnership with the Textile Services Association (TSA).

Following the government’s announcement today of a £22 million investment package to support alternatives to animal testing, Innovate UK is investing up to £2 million in nine innovative projects that will help accelerate the development and adoption of non-animal approaches for medicines development.

As computing challenges grow more complex and AI adoption accelerates, demand for computational power is rising dramatically to meet these expanding requirements. Amy Romaniuk, our sector lead in neuromorphic computing talks about how this energy efficient computational architecture, modelled on the human brain, is rapidly emerging with the potential to reshape the future of AI hardware.

This insight outlines the three main commercial pathways for SMEs following an Innovate UK Business Connect Innovation Exchange (iX) challenge – direct procurement, joint development projects, and equity investment. It provides practical advice on negotiating IP rights, funding options, and partnership structures to bridge the gap from prototype to commercial contract effectively.