Each participating lab contributed to the collective success of this year’s Freezer Challenge, and we’re thrilled to spotlight those whose efforts stood out. This year’s Top Lab and Top Organization winners were determined based on the highest Challenge Score for each Award Category. Winners of Honorable Mentions were selected either by standout energy savings estimates or a combination of that and impressive Challenge Score. Top Organization Winners will be recognized at the I2SL Annual Conference, taking place October 19–22 in Dallas, Texas. Top Lab Winners will be celebrated during a virtual awards ceremony that will take place in early October.

Congratulations to the winners and to all who took part in making this year’s Freezer Challenge a success! For those interested, final Challenge Scores and energy savings estimates can be viewed on the Leaderboards within the Freezer Challenge platform (you must log in again to view).

2025 award winners

Note: Winning Streak Awards are given to the previous year’s Top Organizations and Labs who would have won a second year in a row for 2025.

Biotech/pharmaceutical sector winners

• Top Organization Award: AstraZeneca – 4762 kWh/day saved (Global Participation)
• Winning Streak Award: Amgen Inc, 5172 kWh/day saved (Global Participation)
• Large Lab Award​: Discovery Sciences Cambridge Lab, Novartis Pharmaceuticals – 431 kWh/day saved (United States)
• Medium Lab Award: Shanghai/LPS & SM Lab, Labcorp – 223 kWh/day saved (China)
• Small Lab Award: ARI Process Development Lab, Amgen Inc. – 73 kWh/day saved (United States)
• Small Lab Winning Streak Award: Regional HBS Centre Gothenburg Lab, AstraZeneca – 186 kWh/day saved (Sweden)
• Biorepository Award: Specimen Management Lab Indianapolis, Labcorp – 4913 kWh/day saved (United States)

Academic sector winners

• Top Organization Award: Johns Hopkins University – 1560 kWh/day saved (United States)
• Large Lab Award​: Devonshire Lab, Newcastle University – 170 kWh/day saved (United Kingdom)
• Large Lab Winning Streak Award: Jaffee Lab, Johns Hopkins University – 171 kWh/day saved (United States)
• Medium Lab Award: Tobian – Quinn Lab, Johns Hopkins University – 168 kWh/day saved (United States)
• Small Lab Award: Subramaniam Lab, University of Alabama Birmingham – 1267 kWh/day saved (United States)
• Biorepository Award: HUVH Biobank, Vall d’Hebron Research Institute – 112 kWh/day saved (Spain)

Hospital/clinical/other winners

• Top Organization Award: Mars – 91 kWh/day saved (Global Participation)
• Winning Streak Award: Boston Children’s Hospital – 673 kWh/day saved (United States)
• Large Lab Award​: Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia Quality Assurance Program Lab, RCPAQAP – 122 kWh/day saved (Australia)
• Medium Lab Award: Pishesha Lab, Boston Children’s Hospital – 150 kWh/day saved (United States)
• Small Lab Award: CRB/CIC1403 Lab, CHU de Lille – 113 kWh/day saved (France)
• Biorepository Award: Edinburgh Lab, IQVIA – 2192 kWh/day saved (United Kingdom)

Government sector winners

• Top Organization Award:​ Cefas – 189 kWh/day saved (United Kingdom)
• Large Lab Award​: NEORSD Analytical Services Lab, Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District – 20 kWh/day saved (United States)
• Medium Lab Award: R-Chem Lab, Cefas – 1 kWh/day saved (United Kingdom)
• Small Lab Award: Ecora Lab, Cefas – 31 kWh/day saved (United Kingdom)
• Biorepository Award: Statewide Biobank, New South Wales Health Pathology – 57 kWh/day saved (Australia)

Honorable Mentions

Organizations (all industries):

• The Institute of Cancer Research – 1513 kWh/day saved (United Kingdom)
• Imperial College London – 1445 kWh/day saved (United Kingdom)
• University of Georgia – 503 kWh/day saved (United States)
• National Institutes of Health – 2875 kWh/day saved (United States)
• Labcorp – 18,138 kWh/day saved (Global Participation)
• IQVIA – 6336 kWh/day saved (Global Participation)
• Sanofi – 4580 kWh/day saved (Global Participation)

Labs (all industries):

• HZG 3 Lab, Paul-Ehrlich-Institut – 82 kWh/day saved (Germany)
• Biobank, Chan Soon-Shiong Institute of Molecular Medicine at Windber – 63 kWh/day saved (United States)
• Teaching Lab, ITQB Nova – 192 kWh/day saved (Portugal)
• Dobos Lab, Colorado State University – 112 kWh/day saved (United States)
• Devens Upstream Bio-Process Development Lab, Bristol-Myers Squibb – 326 kWh/day saved (United States)
• IDD – Cell & Sample Technologies Lab, Sanofi – 267 kWh/day saved (Germany)
• Geneva Lab, Labcorp – 5398 kWh/day saved (Switzerland)
• Genseq Lab, Genseq – 83 kWh/day saved (Ireland)