Turning down the heat: how Innovation Exchange is helping industrial laundries cut energy waste
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).
The iX challenge
The challenge was designed to connect industrial laundry operators with innovative solution providers capable of reducing thermal energy losses and supporting wider decarbonisation ambitions. Through a structured Innovation Exchange process, laundry operators and industry stakeholders were introduced to companies offering practical and emerging technologies that could help improve energy efficiency, reduce waste and strengthen operational resilience.
For the TSA, the iX process offered a more efficient way to bring relevant innovators and challenge holders together. The organisation highlighted the value of engaging directly with companies from different sectors and exploring new solutions in a focused, collaborative environment. The TSA also noted that the calibre of companies was strong, with a mix of practical technologies and new ideas that laundries may not otherwise have considered.
Following the challenge launch, shortlisted innovators pitched their solutions directly to challenge holders and industry stakeholders. Selected solution providers included Steamology and Inzonex, whose technologies demonstrated potential to reduce energy losses and support the laundry sector’s sustainability goals. This direct engagement helped accelerate conversations between innovators and customers, creating opportunities that may otherwise have taken much longer to establish.
Delivering value and impact
The challenge delivered clear value for participating laundries. Clean Linen Services reported that the programme provided access to new ideas and technologies that would not typically be visible through day-to-day operations, particularly around energy efficiency and improved operational performance. Royal Jersey Laundry progressed with a thermal insulation project covering boilers, pipework, valves and equipment, demonstrating how innovation can be translated into practical improvements on site.
The impact was equally significant for the innovators involved. Steamology reported increased awareness of its technology, stronger industry connections and a better understanding of customer requirements, helping to accelerate its progress towards market deployment. Inzonex described the challenge as transformational: after engaging with Royal Jersey Laundry and presenting at the TSA Summit, the company secured six site assessment agreements within a month and repositioned itself from an insulation manufacturer to an industrial decarbonisation partner.
Facilitating successful cross-sector collaboration
The wider lesson from the challenge is that cross-sector collaboration can unlock solutions that individual industries may not find alone. By bringing together challenge holders, innovators, industry bodies and Innovate UK Business Connect, the iX model helped create new partnerships, support knowledge sharing and reveal future opportunities for funded projects, pilots and commercial growth.
Ultimately, the Managing Thermal Energy in Industrial Laundries challenge shows how structured innovation programmes can help industries address complex operational and sustainability challenges while giving SMEs a valuable route to validate, refine and scale their solutions. It highlights the value of the role the iX programme plays in facilitating successful cross-sector collaboration, accelerating innovation adoption, delivering measurable sustainability benefits and supporting the UK’s wider net-zero ambitions.