The innovation operating system for East London’s transformation.
What We Are
ELUmination is a strategic collaboration between the East London Innovation Super Corridor (ELISC) and Wazoku, who help turn scientific ideas and expert knowledge into real-world impact by connecting experts or businesses who can solve problems with organisations seeking breakthrough solutions. ELUmination exists to solve a simple problem: great ideas struggle to reach the organisations that need them most.
We act as the connective tissue between East London’s major institutions and a global network of innovators through Wazoku’s global ecosystem and marketplace, Innocentive, spanning experts, solvers, SMEs, startups, evaluators, and IP. When London City Airport needs to decarbonise, when ExCeL London wants to transform its waste stream, when Newham Council seeks smarter public services—we translate those challenges into targeted briefs and find the best solutions from anywhere in the world.
Why We Exist
East London doesn’t lack ideas. It lacks absorptive capacity—the ability to validate and deploy new technologies in complex urban environments.
The region sits on extraordinary assets: London’s only Enterprise Zone, a £5bn regeneration programme, world-class research facilities, and anchor institutions hungry for innovation. Yet adoption stalls because technical risk and regulatory uncertainty make procurement decisions difficult.
ELUmination bridges this gap. We provide the mechanism to test solutions in real-world conditions before full commitment, removing the barriers that keep promising technologies stuck in the “Valley of Death” between prototype and deployment.
How We Work
We operate a demand-led model. Rather than waiting for solutions to emerge, our Innovation Scouts work directly with anchor partners to identify operational bottlenecks and define precise Innovation Briefs. These briefs are broadcast globally through the Wazoku-InnoCentive network, attracting best-in-class responses from researchers, SMEs, and established innovators worldwide.
Winning solutions are landed in East London for validation at the Royal Docks Centre for Sustainability, where our Demonstrator Labs provide controlled, real-world testing environments. Pre-agreed IP terms based on the Lambert Toolkit ensure that validated solutions move quickly from approval to deployment.
Our Place in ELISC
ELUmination is one pillar of a larger vision. The East London Innovation Super Corridor unites three mutually reinforcing clusters: Clean Energy and Sustainable Infrastructure, Computational Futures and Applied AI, and Open Innovation. ELUmination serves as the operational flow—the platform that ensures our physical labs are constantly fed with high-quality, market-relevant projects.
We are governed by a Triple Helix model bringing together business, academia, and civic institutions. The University of East London acts as accountable body, while strategic direction comes from an industry-led Steering Board ensuring that market pull, not academic push, drives our agenda.
Our Partners
ELUmination operates within a rich ecosystem of partners committed to East London’s growth. The University of East London provides research capability and talent. The London Borough of Newham and the Growth Boroughs Partnership ensure alignment with inclusive growth priorities. Anchor corporations including London City Airport, ExCeL London, and Tate & Lyle Sugars bring the demand signals that shape our work. And through Wazoku with its Innocentive global ecosystem and marketplace we connect to a global community of problem-solvers.
Together, we’re building something that didn’t exist before: a digital-first commercialisation pipeline that transforms local need into global opportunity, then lands the results where they matter most.
Get Involved
Whether you’re an innovator with a validated solution, an institution facing an operational challenge, or an organisation seeking to join our network, we want to hear from you.
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