A co-founder of Manchester-based Wull Technologies has won a Women in Innovation award, securing £75,000 in project funding to accelerate the commercial development of its sheep wool insulation panels.
Ruth-Marie Mackrodt, Wull Technologies’ commercial director, is one of 61 female founders recognised through Innovate UK’s national programme after being selected from more than 1,500 applications.
The award will support Wull Technologies’ next phase of development, including manufacturing scale-up, independent testing and product demonstration. It also includes a 12-month package of business support, training and networking opportunities.
Wull Technologies is a joint venture between Vector Labs and Wool Insulation Wales, developing rigid insulation panels made from British sheep wool under the patent-pending brand name LAMDA. The panels are designed for internal and external solid-wall applications.
Millions of solid-wall homes across the UK remain uninsulated. LAMDA is being developed as a vapour-permeable rigid insulation panel to improve thermal performance while managing moisture safely, particularly for heritage and traditional buildings, private retrofit and social housing.
During the 12-month project, Wull Technologies will demonstrate the product in live building projects, supporting the evidence and certification needed for wider adoption across the UK construction sector.
Ruth-Marie, who co-founded Wool Insulation Wales in 2022, leads the Wull Technologies team alongside technical director Liam Britnell.
She said: “I am extremely proud to have received this award, but I see it primarily as recognition of the work being undertaken by the whole Wull Technologies team and of the wider potential of British wool as an advanced material.
“Britain has a vast number of older solid-wall buildings that urgently need to become warmer and more energy efficient. That work must be carried out in a way that respects how those buildings manage moisture, rather than creating new problems that may only become visible years later.
“This award will help us move LAMDA through the next critical stage – strengthening our manufacturing process, building the independent evidence required by the construction industry and demonstrating the material in real buildings.
“It also gives us an opportunity to show that an overlooked British agricultural resource can become part of a modern, technically credible and circular manufacturing industry.”
Innovate UK’s executive chair Tom Adeyoola said: “This year’s Women in Innovation cohort represents some of the UK’s most exciting entrepreneurial talent. These founders are developing the ideas, technologies and businesses that will drive economic growth, attract investment and tackle some of the world’s biggest challenges.
“Many of today’s most successful companies started with bold ideas and the right support at the right time. Through Women in Innovation, we are backing founders with the ambition, talent, and determination to develop the UK’s most promising companies. Many congratulations to every member of this exceptional cohort.”
Celebrating its 10th anniversary, the programme attracted a record 1,590 applications this year. Since launching in 2016, it has backed 260 female founders with more than £15m of investment. Previous winners have gone on to secure a further £358m in funding.
The latest grant for Wull Technologies follows a £300,000 investment by the University of Manchester Innovation Factory and Greater Manchester Combined Authority’s GM Advance Fund last year, with each contributing £150,000.
In 2023, the company was awarded an Innovate UK grant of £214,000 for its initial research project.
