Dr Siân Fussell, Chief Technology Officer and co-founder of iCAST member Albotherm, has been named one of the 50 winners of the Innovate UK Women in Innovation Awards 2025. Recognised for her pioneering work developing smart additives that improve agricultural efficiency and sustainability, Siân’s achievement highlights her leadership in material science innovation.
Albotherm’s technology has been shown to help farmers achieve up to 34% higher crop yields while reducing reliance on energy-intensive cooling systems. Their smart additives enable passive cooling by transitioning from transparent to reflective-white as temperatures rise, improving crop productivity and cutting energy usage in controlled environments such as glasshouses.
With the support of the Women in Innovation Award, Sian and her team will be advancing the next phase of Albotherm’s innovation: making their smart additives fully biodegradable. This step aligns with the company’s mission to decarbonise cooling technologies and further enhance their environmental sustainability. The project will explore bio-based, biodegradable materials while maintaining Albotherm’s commitment to high performance and sustainability.
Dr Fussell said: “Winning this award is not just a personal milestone but also a recognition of the hard work and vision of our entire team at Albotherm. This funding will enable us to take a critical step forward in our journey to creating environmentally responsible products, and it’s an exciting opportunity to contribute even more to building a sustainable future.”
Albotherm joined iCAST seeking expertise to support in the development of its biodegradable additive technology.
