Futurebuild 2026 (12 – 14 May, Excel London) is bringing together an impressive cohort of Innovation Partners to showcase the technologies, materials and solutions shaping a more resilient built and natural environment.
The Innovation Trail featuring Anzen, ZapCarbon, Dimplex, 7 Steel UK, The Concrete Centre and Qvantum UK is addressing some of the sector’s most pressing challenges – from ingenious retrofit solutions to circular material strategies and smarter building technologies.
Exciting developments will also be lauded on-stage with The Big Innovation Pitch and The Big Retrofit Challenge culminating in the conference arenas. Co-hosted by The National Home Decarbonisation Group (NHDG) and Innovate UK, the latter initiative offers innovators a platform to showcase products, processes, systems and new approaches that support healthy homes in the UK’s built environment.
As one of last year’s Big Retrofit Challenge winners, Anzen is back to launch its latest model integrating ventilation and heating into walls and providing an alternative to traditional heat pump installations in space-constrained or difficult-to-retrofit buildings.
Dhruv Shah, Co-Founder of Anzen, comments: “Futurebuild has played a real role in our journey; the connections we made in three days would take months to replicate, including a major retirement living developer and housing associations.
“As an Innovation Partner, we’re excited to show the new look of our solid-state heating system and give developers, landlords and housing providers a real glimpse of what retrofit-ready living can look like at scale and the value we could provide.”
Housing performance and healthier homes
With the Future Homes Standard imminent, Awaab’s Law in force and the £15m Warm Homes Plan being rolled out, improving building performance and creating healthier, energy efficient, zero-carbon ready living environments remains a critical focus for the industry. Several Innovation Partners are bringing solutions designed to address issues such as simplifying retrofit delivery, enabling wider spread electrification and improving indoor air quality across existing and new homes.
ZapCarbon is celebrating 20 years of innovation as a mission-led organisation with a suite of solutions designed to support decarbonisation and improve people’s lives.
Its ZapiQ home intelligence system helps social housing providers to predict and prevent damp and mould. Some 35,000 installations of the sensing technology have been deployed over the last few years in collaboration with housing associations and interest is likely to extend to the private sector too in respect of the Renters’ Rights Bill.
In parallel, the company’s novel wastewater heat recovery Zypho shower is an attractive cost and energy saving proposition for existing and new builds alike – especially for housebuilders seeking to improve SAP calculations and satisfy Part L components.
Dr. Andrew Smith, Technical Director at ZapCarbon, says: “Futurebuild gives us a platform to showcase the breadth of our work, from home intelligence systems to heat recovery, and the real-world impact these technologies are having. It’s an opportunity to connect with housing providers, developers and specialists who are looking for practical ways to tackle damp, mould and energy costs while delivering healthier homes.”
Accelerating the transition to low-carbon buildings
Alongside interior fit-out developments, Futurebuild’s Innovation Partners are accelerating advances positively impacting the wider transition to lower-carbon building systems. Dimplex will showcase innovations in electric heating, cooling, ventilation and hot water technologies that support both new-build and retrofit projects seeking to reduce carbon emissions while meeting evolving regulatory requirements.
David Patrick, Head of Specification Marketing at Dimplex, says: “Futurebuild provides the perfect platform to engage with architects, consultants and specifiers shaping the next generation of buildings. It allows us to showcase practical low-carbon heating, ventilation and cooling solutions and build the partnerships needed to turn decarbonisation ambitions into deliverable projects.”
Tackling some of the challenges unique to city living, Qvantum UK will be highlighting its QG water-to-water heat pump. Designed to help overcome grid constraints in populous urban environments, the system features a high-temperature thermal battery that stores heat and shifts electricity demand away from peak periods. A dedicated digital platform and app also allows for remote diagnostics and enhances the user experience.
Furthermore, the modularity and scalability of the QG makes it especially suitable for multi-dwelling applications, such as apartments. This flexibility – coupled with efficient heat delivery and ultra-low global warming potential – is supporting the collective drive to develop cleaner, more resilient UK cities.
Resourceful developments
Material innovation and circular construction will be central to the conversations taking place too. 7 Steel UK will highlight its work championing circular steel production and low-carbon reinforcement solutions, demonstrating how greater transparency and resource efficiency across the supply chain can help reduce whole-life carbon in construction projects.
Similarly, The Concrete Centre will be presenting the latest concrete technologies, helping specifiers and engineers understand how innovations in concrete mixes and material performance are supporting more resilient and lower-carbon construction.
A platform for collaboration and industry progress
Connecting all of Futurebuild’s Innovation Partners is a shared commitment to turning innovation into practical solutions for the built environment. As the sector faces increasing regulatory pressure and global volatility, Futurebuild remains the place where innovators and decision-makers can meet, exchange ideas and explore the technologies that will shape project legacies.
Futurebuild 2026 is co-located with UK Construction Week London and The Stone & Surfaces Show, giving visitors access to over 600 exhibitors bringing a full range of innovations to the fore.
Register for free today to be part of the new built environment superevent brimming with breakthrough products and fresh ideas.
