Agreka Build Secures First Tender with Innovate UK and DESNZ to Demonstrate the Carbon Impact of WHEATEX®

Agreka Build is proud to announce the award of its first-ever innovation tender under the Contracts for Innovation: Resource Efficient Construction Impacts competition, delivered by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) in collaboration with Innovate UK.

The Contracts for Innovation competition supports projects that deliver measurable resource efficiency impacts, with up to £3 million invested by DESNZ and Innovate UK aims to build on the DESNZ Unlocking Resource Efficiency research by supporting organisations to deliver an impact validation report for a resource efficiency solution.

This project marks a significant milestone for Agreka Build and the next phase of WHEATEX®, our circular, straw-based insulation technology. Through this project, we will install WHEATEX® in a real residential retrofit environment, capturing every stage from production to in-use performance.

The pilot aims to validate the carbon efficiency and emissions reduction potential of WHEATEX® and will contribute to an impact report for DESNZ, helping to shape the evidence base for the future of sustainable construction across the UK.

Running from November 2025 to March 2026, this project represents an important step in bringing evidence-backed, regenerative materials into mainstream building practice — demonstrating that the future of construction can be both innovative and grounded in nature.

“This is an exciting validation of our work and a chance to demonstrate WHEATEX® in real-world conditions,” said Antoinette Vandy, Co-Founder and CEO of Agreka Build. “We’re thrilled to work with our partners and national innovation agencies to show that sustainable construction can be both high-performance and circular.”

Agreka Build extends a heartfelt thank you to Innovate UK and DESNZ for their support and investment in advancing resource-efficient solutions. We’re also delighted to collaborate with Euro Energy Group, Office Ten Architecture, Eyesea Green, and Love Design Studio on this project, a partnership we believe will deliver meaningful insights and impactful results.

To follow our journey, check out our LinkedIn, subscribe to our newsletter or contact us to discuss collaboration opportunities at contact@agrekabuild.co.uk. Thank you for reading!