The Sparks of 2026: #1

WheatEx

The British bio insulation you are going to hear a lot about in 2026

This excellent British invention is not a nice to have. It is an essential component of the growing expertise and innovation we now have in the UK for homegrown (pun absolutely intended) bio insulation.

We first met WheatEx in March 2025 at FutureBuild, where the two co founders won an award for its design and development. Fast forward to late 2025 and they have just secured their first live use trial win in November. It was a competitive tender that put their product head to head with more established insulation brands. The result: WheatEx came out on top. Not because it is quirky or eco ish, but because it performs.

The company is now expanding its production team, quietly signalling what matters: real world demand. Installers want it. Architects are specifying it. Surveyors are asking for samples. Growth in headcount is always the earliest tell in this sector that a product is shifting from interesting to inevitable.

What is WheatEx?

WheatEx is a UK developed insulation board made from agricultural by products, primarily wheat straw, that are processed, pressed and engineered into a structurally robust, breathable, low carbon insulation material. In other words: it takes a widely available British waste stream and turns it into something with extremely high retrofit value.

Why does WheatEx matter?

Because bio materials are not an alternative niche. They are becoming central to how we upgrade Britain’s damp, moisture prone, ventilation limited housing stock. Breathability, moisture moderation and carbon negative manufacturing are not ideological choices. They are technical requirements.

WheatEx lands exactly in that sweet spot:

• Breathable for heritage and hard to treat walls
• Strong thermal performance
• Very low embodied carbon
• UK supply chain (no waiting 10 weeks for a boat from somewhere you cannot pronounce)
• Price competitive compared to mainstream boards

That combination, homegrown supply, low carbon and solid performance, is why WheatEx is our first product we want in the 25 products to watch in 2026.

Here's a handy table comparing it to other products you might have heard of;