The first TECH-X event has taken place, bringing together the full spectrum of the lighting industry under one roof.
Despite disruption to London travel, organisers reported strong attendance, with delegates, speakers, and partners gathering to share insights on the future of the sector.
Ayça Donaghy, CEO of the Lighting Industry Association (LIA), comments, “The dedication shown by delegates, sponsors, partners, and speakers in overcoming travel disruptions to be with us is a true reflection of the passion within our sector.
“The LIA community is the beating heart of this industry, and TECH-X has been a powerful demonstration of that spirit.”
Created as a cross-sector event, TECH-X welcomed lighting manufacturers, suppliers, M&E consultants, designers, installers, specifiers, wholesalers, policymakers, and industry associations.
The keynote was delivered by Ricky Nutall, who spoke on resilience in crisis, offering lessons relevant across industries.
Key themes from the sessions
From the Tech Talks Arena:
• Keeping pace with standards and regulations is essential to ensuring products remain safe, legal, and market-ready.
• Sustainability is now considered holistically, covering remanufacturing, supply chains, wellbeing, and environmental impact.
• Industry leaders urged the sector to move beyond minimum requirements, prioritising safety, ethics, and excellence.
From the Connected Lighting Stage:
• Lighting is increasingly integrated with platforms, sensors, and data.
• Open protocols and collaboration across sectors are key to innovation.
• Technology alone is not enough — skills, competence, cybersecurity, and trust are vital.
From the Lighting Design Stage:
• Lighting affects health, wellbeing, and neurodiverse needs, placing human outcomes above technical metrics.
• Maximising natural light remains one of the most effective design strategies.
• Artificial intelligence and closer collaboration between manufacturers and designers are expected to shape the sector’s future.
The event also highlighted resources including LightingEurope’s paper on product standards and a new guide on sustainability in lighting products, written by Irene Mazzei.
Positive feedback
Delegates praised the inaugural event:
• “Looking forward to the next event!” – Luca Cancian, Lumen Radio
• “Well done Team LIA and thank you for letting me take part.” – Brendan Keely, SLL
• “The mix of manufacturer, designers, and organisations’ insights made the day very fruitful and enjoyable.” – Claudio Mauri, Hilson Moran
For more from the LIA, click here.