Textile Leadership

Fraunhofer IWS Supports Industry Partners in the Development of New Protective Suits for Firefighters.
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAHs) are considered harmful to health, especially as potential carcinogens. For example, the molecular compounds of carbon and hydrogen atoms can arise in house fires when mattresses, curtains, wooden beams, plastic, or other objects made of organic materials burn.

Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons PAH enter the body through the skin and are deposited in fatty tissue. Because the human defense systems are unaware of the ring-shaped carbon compounds, the body does not break down these pollutants – they accumulate and concentrate. This increases the risk of carcinoma over the years. According to “Deutsche Gesetzliche Unfallversicherung” (DGUV) studies, this risk is limited if protective clothing is worn correctly. However, minor carelessness can lead to problematic exposures when firefighters are on duty for decades.

To better protect firefighters from these risks, the Fraunhofer Institute for Material and Beam Technology IWS in Dresden, together with partners from industry, has laid the groundwork for developing novel anti-PAK protective suits. The German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) is funding the project with 1.24 million euros until December 2023 as part of the “Research for Civil Security” program.
 
The innovative protection concept of the new suits includes high-materials and intelligent monitoring: Modern nonwovens, as a central component of the protective suits, effectively prevent skin contact with the pollutants. Ultraviolet sensors are also integrated into the fabrics to determine when the textile protective shield is saturated with PAH and needs to be replaced. This provides double safety for rescue personnel. The new protective clothing has already passed the first tests in fire containers.

PAK-Accumulation over a Lifetime of Work Increases Cancer Risk
“On a single job, it may only be a few micrograms of PAH that get onto the skin through openings in the protective suit,” explains Felix Spranger, Group Manager Gas and Particle Filtration at Fraunhofer IWS. “The treacherous aspect of PAH is that they can continue to accumulate in the firefighters' bodies over an entire working life. Studies from Germany and the U.S. have shown increased incidences of cancer in this occupational group. Therefore, it was important to find solutions incorporating new technological approaches such as smart textiles.” For this purpose, Fraunhofer IWS joined forces with four other partners in 2020 to form the project “3D-Funktionsvliesstoffe mit integrierter Gassensorik für die Schutzbekleidung von Einsatzkräften” (3D-PAKtex, Engl: “3D functional nonwovens with integrated gas sensor technology for the protective clothing of emergency personnel”). To protect firefighters from the harmful PAH in flue gases and soot swirls in burning houses in the future, the collaborative partners pursued a two-pronged concept: on the one hand, the focus was on the development of fleece-based new filters, and on the other hand, on a sensor concept to monitor their functionality.
 
Activated Carbon Fleeces Filter Ring Molecules from Flue Gas
Fraunhofer IWS first identified suitable porous activated carbons that bind PAH particularly well. Project partner Norafin fixed these adsorbents with special binders in nonwovens optimized for fire applications. Norafin's partner S-GARD integrated the new additional nonwovens into a demonstration suit. The manufacturer added small closure pockets at sleeve openings, waistbands, and other points, which can accommodate the new additional filters using press studs at those points where, in the worst case, smoke gases could still enter the suit despite all insulation. If smoke gas flows past these spots, the fleece binds the toxins.

In addition, project partner JLM Innovation equipped the new filter fleeces with specifically engineered monitoring sensors based on fluorescence spectroscopy. These mini-spectrometers emit ultraviolet light of a precisely defined wavelength. When these UV rays hit PAH, the ring molecules first absorb their energy and then send back other UV rays at a slightly different wavelength. The sensors measure the returned light: The more intense, the higher the PAH concentration in the fleece. An electronic control unit in the firefighter's breast pocket evaluates this data and sends it to a smartphone via Bluetooth. The development and implementation of the repective software was accomplished by ATS Elektronik. It enables the rescuers to see in real-time how their PAH filters are filling up and when they need to be replaced.

In laboratory tests, the new nonwoven activated carbon filters have significantly reduced the flue gas PAH load. This was followed by practical simulations in fire containers: Experienced testers donned the suit prototypes, and set fire to mattresses, then rubber tires and other test objects in a shielded container to try out the new protective clothing in different fire scenarios.

“We will thoroughly evaluate these findings and continue to monitor the market to make a well-founded decision on possible series production,” announced Jonas Kuschnir of S-GARD. The new protective approach against PAHs entails certain additional costs, but the project’s results were promising.
 
High Market Potential for Intelligent Textiles Expected
Whatever the outcome of this decision, “3D-PAKtex” has, in any case, led to a considerable gain in expertise for the collaborative partners. The topic will also continue to occupy Fraunhofer IWS. Felix Spranger: “We still see some approaches, for example, to further improve the new protection technology's sensors and interfaces. From feedback, we know that industry partners still perceive great potential in such smart textiles, even beyond protective firefighting clothing.”

This is also consistent with the findings of international observers. For example, analysts at the British market research company IDTechEx expect the market for electronically enhanced or “smart” textiles to grow to the equivalent of around 713 million euros by 2033. Annual growth rates averaging 3.8 percent are expected.

Project Partners “3D-PAKtex”

• Fraunhofer IWS contributes its expertise in the selection of filter materials and analytics
• Norafin Industries from Mildenau in the Ore Mountains produces technical textiles
• Hubert Schmitz (“S-GARD”) from Heinsberg produces protective clothing for firefighters
• JLM Innovation from Tübingen is dedicated to sensor technology in intelligent textiles
• ATS Elektronik developed the required software in Wunstorf, Germany

July 20, biomaterials technology company MycoWorks announced three Reishi™ products and is unveiling performance breakthroughs in this revolutionary material made from Fine Mycelium™.

Founded in 2013, MycoWorks is marking its tenth anniversary this year with the launches of Reishi Doux, Reishi Natural, and Reishi Pebble. Each exceeds performance levels required by the luxury industry and behave similarly to that of some animal leathers. These will soon be produced at the world’s first commercial-scale Fine Mycelium factory in Union, South Carolina.

Unparalleled Quality
“This is a breakthrough for the luxury industry,” said Thibault Schockert, CEO of luxury leather goods factory Cuir du Vaudreuil. “This improvement gives us the opportunity to introduce an entirely new category to our business,” referring to the latest Reishi™ material produced by MycoWorks that incorporates new breakthroughs in both Fine Mycelium fermentation and in mycelium tanning.
 
These milestones are the culmination of three decades of pioneering mycelium materials, beginning in the 1990s with the world’s first demonstrations of mycelium’s structural capabilities by MycoWorks co-founder Phil Ross. Prototypes of MycoWorks’ Fine Mycelium™ leather-like material were first unveiled in 2016, featuring both durability and softness but relatively low tensile strength. After achieving luxury-level performance over years of improvements, recent breakthroughs bring Reishi™ to yet another level of sensual and technical performance. Data on Reishi™ including softness, durability, flexibility, finish adhesion, tear strength, abrasion resistance, homogeneity and more are shown below, with additional data available upon request.
 
“Heritage-level quality can only be achieved with long-term dedication to discovery, paired with a commitment to craft and the transmission of deep expertise,” observed MycoWorks board member and former CEO of Hermès, Patrick Thomas. “MycoWorks’ Fine Mycelium™ platform is built on these principles, bringing together artisanal mastery with a rigorous approach to material innovation in a scalable way.”

Fine Mycelium™ as a biomaterial, not merely an ingredient
“The strength of our unique Fine Mycelium™ platform is evidenced by the new levels of performance we have achieved in the first half of this year in partnership with our European tannery partners,” said Bill Morris, MycoWorks VP of Product Management, “and our current product has surprised and delighted our brand partners, who have witnessed its evolution. Our latest material not only has Fine Mycelium™’s signature natural feel, but adds to it new levels of technical performance.”

MycoWorks’ brand partners include Hermès, General Motors, Ligne Roset, Heron Preston, Nick Fouquet, and others yet to be announced.

With these new Reishi™ articles, MycoWorks and its brand partners are excited to enter commercialization cycles—with some, such as Nick Fouquet and others, new styles and products Made With Reishi™.

MycoWorks’ Fine Mycelium™ platform is powerful in its tunability, and as a true, grown biomaterial sheet—rather than an added mycelium ingredient as found in other “mushroom leather”. MycoWorks’ process is unique in its ability to endlessly enable improvement. The recent quality advances were achieved by utilizing a combination of enhanced growth conditions plus a fundamentally new, patent-pending tanning approach that MycoWorks developed in-house. Because of the uniqueness of the Fine Mycelium process, every advance marks a  differentiator between MycoWorks’ technology platform and that of other biomaterial companies.

“While most plant- or mycelium-based alternative materials use plastic to meet baseline performance standards, MycoWorks has spent ten years taking no shortcuts, in order to achieve the biotech innovations behind our proprietary process,” says Matt Scullin, MycoWorks CEO. “Operating vertically—owning our entire technology stack, rather than licensing and outsourcing—has given us the depth of expertise required to bring a new material to market.”

Meeting luxury’s standards for material performance without the use of plastics means Fine Mycelium™ stands out in a field of alternatives that depend on polyurethane (PU) or polyvinyl chloride (PVC) films, fillers, or backings to provide strength and durability.

At the beginning of April Fashion for Good launched Dyestuff Library, a digital tool enabling partners to choose sustainable dyestuff based on competitive performance and environmental metrics for commercial use. The library, which will accelerate the shift from harmful chemistry to more sustainable options by enabling visibility and access to innovations, is supported by Fashion for Good’s corporate partners adidas, Inditex, bonprix and Otto International (members of the Otto group), BESTSELLER, Target, Patagonia, Paradise Textiles, Welspun, and newest partner Shahi Exports, along with other supporting stakeholders.

Textile dyes were derived from nature before synthetic dyes, discovered by WH Perkin in 1856, revolutionised the textile industry. Today, 90% of our clothing is synthetically dyed, but the toxic effects and ecological impact are extremely harmful to humans and the environment. Over the years, a significant amount of effort has gone into phasing out harmful chemistry and there are consistent efforts to develop non-hazardous chemistry. Today, many alternative dyes from natural sources such as plants, microorganisms, algae and recycled materials are available, however the lack of clarity on their performance and scale makes it difficult for the industry to switch to these sustainable options.

Over the course of a year, 15 selected dyestuff innovations will participate in lab and pilot trials. Innovators will go through extensive compliance and toxicity testing to ensure they are safe for commercial use. Testing and validating the performance of these innovative dyes and pigments on various textile substrates will be supported by the supply chain partners Paradise Textiles and RDD Textiles, University and labs partners NimkarTek, Institute of Chemical Technology and UNICAMP. Furthermore, participating Fashion for Good partners, textile experts and ZDHC will support this project with their expertise and encourage next steps for industry implementation.

After the completion of the project, Fashion for Good will continue developing the library with additional innovators, materials, fabric constructions, testing methods and innovative colouration machineries to enable innovation implementation in the fashion industry.

ABOUT FASHION FOR GOOD
Fashion for Good is a global innovation platform. At its core is the Global Innovation Programme that supports disruptive innovators on their journey to scale, providing hands-on project management, access to funding and expertise, and collaborations with brands and manufacturers to accelerate supply chain implementation.
To activate individuals and industry alike, Fashion for Good houses the world’s first interactive museum dedicated to sustainable fashion and innovation to inform and empower people from across the world and creates open-source resources to action change.

Fashion for Good’s programmes are supported by founding partner Laudes Foundation, co-founder William McDonough and corporate partners adidas, BESTSELLER, Burberry, C&A, CHANEL, Inditex, Kering, Levi Strauss & Co., Otto Group, Patagonia, PVH Corp., Reformation, Target and Zalando, and affiliate and regional partners Arvind Limited, Birla Cellulose, Norrøna, Pangaia, Paradise Textiles, Shahi Exports, Teijin Frontier, Vivobarefoot, Welspun and W. L. Gore & Associates.

A growing number of people are equipping their homes with smart, networked devices. However, the required connections are not always located where they are needed. The solution: smart textile surfaces that make walls and floors in the living area usable for cable-based power supply and communication. The innovative technology was developed by a consortium led by the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI) in the ConText project funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).

There are many ways to make living environments intelligent. Thanks to the so-called Internet of Things (IoT), living objects can be connected with each other in such a way that they make our everyday lives easier in many ways. However, private households generally lack comprehensive low-voltage and communication connections to install IoT components such as temperature sensors, microphones, or light signals where they are needed. As a result, the devices usually operate on batteries and wireless technologies, which makes them susceptible to interference and failures.

Textile-based power supply, communication, and interaction
But how can the desire for creativity and flexibility in the use of smart home systems be met while at the same time dispensing with unfavorable energy supply and data communication? This was the question addressed by a consortium of industry and research partners in the ConText ("Connecting Textiles") project, which has now been completed. Inspired by the possibilities of smart textile materials, such as those already used in the manufacture of smart clothing, the partners investigated the potential of electronic textiles for cable-based low-voltage power supply and communication in indoor spaces. In an exploratory and use-oriented process, they developed an infrastructure that takes advantage of wired connections while integrating invisibly into textile surfaces. The so-called Connecting Textiles not only enable the flexible attachment of actuators and sensors in living areas by means of freely positionable patches, but also power supply and communication with smart home systems. In addition, the developed infrastructure provides haptic interaction modalities for intuitive control of IoT devices.

Demonstrators provide infrastructure via textile wallpaper
Demonstrators produced in the project implement the Connecting Textiles using a wallpaper as an example. The wallpaper consists of several layers: a magnetic backing layer that increases the adhesion between the patches and the wallpaper, a functional layer with woven-in conductor tracks that distribute the current vertically through the wallpaper, and a decorative top layer. To create the conductive traces, the partners investigated various woven and non-woven materials, such as those used today for standard wallpaper, as well as different processing techniques, including screen printing and weaving. Woven samples proved to be the most suitable for the functional layer due to their comparatively high conductivity. The electrical contacting of a wallpaper strip is made via the baseboard, which also connects adjacent wallpaper strips to enable large-area applications. The strip also contains the necessary electronics as well as functions that monitor the current flow to detect possible damage to the wallpaper or incorrectly applied strips.

User-oriented development of intuitive interaction elements
Functional patches serve as the central interaction elements of the Connecting Textiles, which can be flexibly attached to the wallpaper either with the help of magnets or by means of microneedles mounted on the back. The patches can either contain an IoT functionality, e.g., a sensor, or connect one or more IoT devices to integrate them into the smart home system. Control and configuration of the devices can also be done directly on the wallpaper via an additional interaction patch fabricated by screen printing on textile. Pattern recognition software captures the basic patterns of gesture interactions and allows control gestures and interaction sequences to be defined by the user. The interaction concept was developed and evaluated in the project in a participative way with the direct involvement of users.

Dr. Serge Autexier, ConText project manager at DFKI's Cyber-Physical Systems research department: "Thanks to the commitment and very good collaboration of the project partners, we have succeeded in demonstrating the feasibility of Connecting Textiles as a flexible, adaptable and easily configurable interaction medium that can be seamlessly integrated into Smart Homes. This not only opens up new possibilities for the confection of functional textile surfaces, but also for the development of novel IoT applications and the creative design of personalized human-environment interaction beyond the application context of home environments.”

One of the demonstrators developed in the project is integrated into the infrastructure of the Bremen Ambient Assisted Living Lab (BAALL) of DFKI as part of the Smart Home environment.

ConText was funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) from July 1, 2019 to Dec. 31, 2022.

Project partners included:

• DFKI - Research Department Cyber-Physical Systems, Bremen
• DFKI - Research Department Interactive Textiles, Berlin
• Robert Bosch GmbH, Renningen
• German Institutes for Textile and Fiber Research Denkendorf (DITF), Denkendorf
• Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Applied Materials Research (IFAM), Bremen
• Norafin Industries (Germany) GmbH, Mildenau
• Peppermint Holding GmbH, Berlin    
• Innovative Living Institute GmbH & Co.KG, Mülheim an der Ruhr (subcontracted)

• Lab-grown Pigments and Food By-Products

As the environmental impact of the fashion and textile industries becomes clearer, the demand and need for sustainable alternatives is growing. One international research group aims to replace toxic synthetic dyes with natural alternatives, ranging from plants to microbes to food waste.
 
Walk into any clothing store and you'll find a rainbow of fluorescent shirts, pastel sweaters and blue jeans that rotate in and out of style each season. The colours of each garment are pristine, eye-catching and identical, but there are consequences hidden in those racks of colourful clothes.

Our planet and the factory workers producing our clothes are paying a steep price: toxic chemicals used in the synthetic dyeing process pollute waterways and soil.
Introduced in the 1860s, synthetic dyes and pigments have become commonplace in the textile industry. These dyes are part of the reason why clothes of every colour imaginable are so readily available: they offer quick and easy alternatives to the natural sources of colour that used to be the only option.

While this synthetic process has become normalised, using natural pigments to dye textiles has been part of human history for thousands of years.
BioColour suggests it's time to revisit and reimagine this long history.

Associate Professor in Design at Aalto University and member of the BioColour research group Kirsi Niinimäki explains, ‘We’re looking back in history to see how we can bring the information we had before synthetic chemicals existed to the current day, but also how we can apply it in a more modern way by working with the [textile] industry.’

BioColour is an international research consortium of designers, material scientists, biologists, mathematicians and engineers. These researchers from Finnish, American and Brazilian universities and research institutes work together to find non-toxic and biodegradable natural alternatives to synthetic dyes and pigments.
 
Natural dyes at an industrial scale
BioColour’s research isn't just about identifying and testing natural colour sources, it's also about working with the textile industry and consumers to bring widespread change to the new normal of synthetic colours.

One such example comes from Finnish design house Marimekko. Using dyer’s woad, a plant native to Finland, the project tested this alternative to synthetic indigo, a dye that's created using toxic chemicals like formaldehyde.

This collaboration revealed an additional perk of natural dyes: as a Finnish design house, by using a plant cultivated in Finland, Marimekko could tell a local story with dyer’s woad that wasn’t possible with synthetic indigo.

Such collaborations are an opportunity to challenge and learn from each other, says Niinimäki. While BioColour challenges industry partners to work with different methods and recipes that draw on historical practices, industry partners put dye recipes to the test outside of precise laboratory conditions.

‘In a laboratory, it’s possible [adjust] processes, but when we go to the industry, it’s not possible to precisely modify the recipes,’ says Niinimäki, ‘we have to accept the industrial processes and what comes out of them.’

The textile industry isn't the only source of collaboration: Food and agricultural industries create massive amounts of biowaste that spell untapped potential of natural dyes. By-products such as onion skins and willow bark from these industries can be used to dye clothing, creating new side streams and reducing waste.

Though the details are still secret, Niinimäki also described an ongoing collaboration with a food company that aims to investigate how much pigment can be extracted from food waste material. They will also test the durability of said colours.

Changing attitudes towards colour
Ensuring consumers are willing to purchase naturally dyed textiles is vital in the quest to replace synthetic dyes. Yet, consumers still find this concept to be a strange one, according to Niinimäki.

Synthetic dyes are appealing because they provide long-lasting and identical colours between each garment. As Niinimäki points out, however, that ‘sameness’ is one of fast fashion’s problems.

‘Blue is a trendy colour, but why does everything have to be the same blue? Even in mass production, why can’t we accept that there might be different kinds of blue? Why does everything have to be the same?’

Natural dyes, which are not as stable, may look different from garment to garment and even fade over time.
These fading colours don't need to be seen as a negative, however.

Niinimäki believes fading colours open the door to an attractive new type of design: garments could be designed to reveal new patterns as certain colours fade over time.

While BioColour’s consumer studies aim to identify and change current attitudes to colours and textiles, other researchers in the group are investigating the durability and longevity of natural dyes. Fading colours may offer interesting design potential, but they aren't the only option.

Drawing on history to invent the future
Natural sources of colour aren't limited to plants and mushrooms—the world of microbes offers huge potential for the future of dyes and pigments.

Bacteria can be a source of non-toxic biodegradable pigment and a method of helping dyes to stick to textile fibres. Using bacteria in the natural dyeing process harkens back to the slower pace of fashion, as it can take weeks of growing and feeding the bacteria.

This use of bacteria in the dyeing process has inspired BioColour collaborators from the VTT Technical Research Centre to investigate lab-grown colourants. Their research explores how the DNA of microbes can be modified to produce a variety of different pigments that could be scaled to wider textile production.
 
Lab-grown colourants are a particularly promising future because, as Niinimäki explains, there is limited land to cultivate plants for dyes. Climate change is and will continue to change our environment and cause food and water insecurity. This means resources will need to be diverted to food cultivation.

These pigment-producing microbes expand the possibilities of non-toxic, biodegradable dyes while saving land and resources in the process.
While it may be drawn from history, the research behind natural dyes is anything but old news.

Resortecs has developed an innovative solution that helps solve a widespread fashion industry challenge: how to recycle garments more effectively.
 
The challenge relates to stitched clothes such as jeans or jackets, that need to be taken apart before their constituent materials can be recycled. The existing disassembly process is time-consuming and costly, as the garment and its components are held together by a synthetic high-strength thread, which in most cases is polyester. Before recycling, the garment has to be separated and the thread removed, otherwise the quality of the recycled product will be compromised.

Resortecs has designed a new type of thread that makes the disassembly process easier. Their threads are available for different melting-points (150° C, 170° C and 200° C) and dissolved using a commercial oven. The choice of thread depends on the type of garment that is being taken apart. The Resortecs® solution allows up to 500kg of garments (=>1000 pairs of jeans) to be dismantled at the same time.

Why it’s an example of the circular economy
Currently less than 1% of all garments are recycled to a high quality. The rest are downcycled, incinerated or landfilled, translating into a loss of USD 100 billion worth of material annually.

The production of new materials to replace those that are landfilled or incinerated, accrues significant environmental and social impacts, including massive freshwater consumption, land degradation and greenhouse gas emissions. For example, 2.4% of the world’s arable land is cultivated with cotton, but growing cotton accounts for 24% of the world’s annual demand for insecticides.

There are many factors that contribute to the low rate of garment recycling. One key contributor is the high cost associated with disassembly, which due to complicated and durable designs is a predominantly manual process. Furthemore, according to industry research including data from garment recycling companies in Pakistan, between 30 - 52% of denim is lost during disassembly.

In the Resortecs® process only 10% maximum of textile material is lost, and the integrity of the textile is not damaged, meaning that new garments can use a higher percentage of recycled material. Furthermore the process makes the garment dismantling process much easier and five times faster. This improves the effectiveness and economic viability of recycling, particularly in countries where labour costs are high.      

Business and environmental benefits
Resortec’s enabling technologies reduce the use of virgin materials which can save costs and reduce exposure to unpredictability in resource prices and changing regulations. In the past years, consumer trends have shifted towards more environmentally conscious choices, including the use of recycled materials. And because 50% of carbon emissions and 75% of water use occurs in the production and material processing stage, this model also hugely reduces negative environmental impacts.

The journey continues
There are no silver bullets in the circular economy and often a product might be described as ‘circularish’, to reflect the continuing journey of improvement.

For Resortec’s technology to realise its full potential, other actors in the fashion system need to play their part. For example, reverse supply chains (sorters and recyclers) must adapt and optimise their operations to suit these new solutions. Designers and brands also need to understand the limitations and push the limits of circular design, for example by designing/specifying reusable buttons and zips. Policy makers need to send the right signal to the market, such as France’s forthcoming anti-waste law which bans disposal of unsold clothes into landfills.
          
As well as system changes, there are also potential improvements in the technology. Currently Resortecs uses a plastic based thread, which when melted should ideally be recovered and re-spun rather than discarded. The thread could also be sourced from recycled or regenerative production methods.

There is clearly already a growing appetite for Resortec’s technology which is already being piloted by 25 international fashion brands with at least one Resortec-enabled product already on the market. As the fashion industry continues to evolve, simple but powerful innovations such as this can help unlock the potential of a circular economy for fashion. 

Gestamp, Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology ICT and its project partners are facing the scientific challenge to implement mass production of green fiber chassis parts. The broad Eco Dynamic SMC consortium brings together expertise from the aerospace, automotive and scientific industries.

Mobility demands are subject to constant change. Due to new emissions regulations and increasing electric mobility, lightweight construction and safety continue to be drivers for future automotive and mobility applications. The sustainable use of limited resources and the mandatory reduction of CO₂-emissions during the production process and the lifetime of the vehicle are now the focus of development, in addition to the performance of the individual parts of a vehicle.

Gestamp is comitted to create a vehicle that is better for the environment and safer, to contribute to the mitigation of climate change. The focus is on the production of a lighter car, so that it emits less emission during its use. For this reason, Gestamp, Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology ICT and several other consortium partners have collaborated to make the ECO Dynamic SMC project a tangible reality.

Thanks to its good material properties, recyclability and worldwide availability, steel is still often the material of choice in the automotive and mobility industry, and will certainly continue to be so in the future. However, the trend is also towards new materials that expand the range of materials and fulfill the motto "the right material in the right place". Fiber-reinforced composites offer excellent lightweight construction potential and safety features. The use of recyclable materials leads to a good balance between energy consumption, profitability and sustainability.

Fiber-reinforced materials are currently used in large numbers for body parts, but not for chassis components in the automotive or aerospace industry. The Eco Dynamic SMC project addresses this issue by developing a closed engineering loop for an automotive chassis control arm for a high volume production and a suspension part of a motor glider, substituting steel with fiber-reinforced material with the aim to implement the CF-SMC Technology for dynamic and safety relevant chassis components in high volume productions.

Initiated in October 2021 and funded by the German Ministry of Energy and Climate Protection, Eco Dynamic SMC (Grant Number: 03LB3023A) will address the scientific problem of developing a comprehensive continuous engineering process for fiber composite reinforced components that meet OEM approval procedures. The broad Eco Dynamic SMC consortium brings together expertise from the aerospace, automotive and scientific industries. Cooperation between universities, academic institutes and companies from various relevant sectors promotes the transfer of technology and experience across industry borders. Gestamp is the head of the consortium of Eco Dynamic SMC project.

Today, a continuous development process is established for metals and the procedure is defined based on available material data for manufacturing, product simulations and specific material parameters addressing e.g. formability, durability, stiffness, strain rate behavior or weldability.

Starting with the development of a digital shadow from the raw material manufacturing to be aware about the fiber content and weight of the material stack before the transfer into the tool. Substantial material characterization will be the groundwork for the integration of the material properties and fiber orientation from manufacturing process into the product development simulation. At the end of the development, a prototype will be manufactured and tested as component and on a test vehicle to evaluate the mechanical and acoustic behavior.

In the second project stream, a suspension part for a motor glider is developed by following the same strategy of the closed loop of process and product engineering.

In addition to the development cycle, the Eco Dynamic SMC project is dedicated to other core aspects such as a good CO₂ balance, a recycling concept, optimized use of materials, reduced energy consumption and the careful use of resources.

Eco Dynamic SMC Consortium
The project consortium consists of: Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology ICT, Karlsruher Institut für Technologie, DG Flugzeugbau GmbH, Koller Formenbau GmbH, Schmidt & Heinzmann GmbH & Co.KG, Toray Industries Europe GmbH, Vibracoustic SE, Gestamp Autotech Engineering Deutschland GmbH.

Associated Partners: BMW AG, Premium Aerotec GmbH

Gestamp
Gestamp is a multinational company specialized in the design, development and manufacture of highly engineered metal components for the main vehicle manufacturers. It develops products with an innovative design to produce lighter and safer vehicles, which offer lower energy consumption and a lower environmental impact. Its products cover the areas of bodywork, chassis and mechanisms.

The company is present in 24 countries with more than 100 production plants, 13 R&D centers and a workforce of nearly 40,000 employees worldwide. Its turnover in 2021 was 8,093 million euros. Gestamp is listed on the Spanish stock exchange under the ticker GEST.

Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology ICT
The main campus houses more than 100 laboratories, pilot plants and test centers on a total area of 21 hectares. The research orientation enables us to combine research and development activities in this area with large demonstration plants. The focus is on the scalability of processes, on the transfer of research results from the laboratory to the pilot plant scale, and in some cases on pre-series application.

Customers and project partners are chemical and process engineering companies, automotive manufacturers and their suppliers, the plastics processing industry, material manufacturers, recycling companies, companies from the energy and environmental sectors, customers from the security industry, the construction industry and the aviation sector.

After a Corona-related break of three years, the leading trade fairs Techtextil and Texprocess are once again presenting the renowned Innovation Awards. The award-winning new developments from areas such as New Products, Sustainability and Automation demonstrate: Textile innovations and technologies provide impulses for many branches of the industry and promise market and sales success far beyond their own sector. 13 winners from seven categories will be honored at a public awards ceremony at Techtextil and Texprocess on 21 June, 2022.
 
As is the case for many other industries, times are challenging for the textile industry: the consequences of Corona, the Ukraine war, strained supply chains, sustainability issues, rising energy prices and recruitment problems - the industry is under pressure from many sides. But more than almost any other industry, it is also very adept at meeting these challenges with new ideas, developments and business models. This year's Innovation Awards at the leading trade fairs Techtextil and Texprocess are another example of this. With their new products, materials, solutions and processes, the 13 award winners are demonstrating in an exemplary manner that textile innovations are the ideal way to create market opportunities and boost future business revenues, out of the challenges of the present.

Techtextil Innovation Award and Texprocess Innovation Award
The Techtextil and Texprocess Innovation Awards will be presented on 21 June, 2022 in Hall 9.0. Textile innovations selected by international expert juries will be awarded prizes and presented publicly on the four days of the trade fair in Hall 9.1 (Techtextil) and 9.0 (Texprocess), in some cases for the first time.

World's first: first woven heart valve without postfabrication
In the "New Product" category, the Techtextil Innovation Award goes to the Institute of Textile Machinery and High Performance Material Technology (ITM) at the Technische Universität Dresden. Together with medical product manufacturers and heart surgeons from the Cardiovascular Center Würzburg and the Universitätsklinikum Würzburg, textile researchers from the ITM have succeeded in developing the world's first woven heart valve that does not require a single seam or other joining technique. "Our new development should also help children with heart valve defects in the future by growing with the heart of the young patients - avoiding repeated surgical interventions," says Dr.-Ing. Dilbar Aibibu, research group leader for biotextiles and medical textiles at ITM. Worldwide, cardiovascular diseases are among the most common causes of death; several million people die from them every year. When patients receive heart valve replacements, artificial mechanical or biobased solutions are usually used. If ITM has its way, the woven valve, which won the Techtextil Innovation Award, should become a beneficial alternative in the future.

Reuse of waste from a natural source
In the "New Material" category, RBX Créations (France) receives the Innovation Award for a novel cellulose fiber made from hemp waste. The material, named Iroony®, was developed with regard to the following question: Hemp is now grown either to make fiber or to produce hemp oil - but could not the two be combined? RBX Créations has now succeeded in developing a process for extracting cellulose from the waste of oilseed hemp. Spun into textile fibers, it can be used to produce sustainable textiles, packaging and other "green" products. The award is given to RBX Créations for its continuous and successful efforts to convert waste from a renewable source into a valuable cellulose fiber that meets the highest sustainability standards.

Fiber shielding technology for hospitals, electric cars and server farms
The Techtextil Innovation Award in the "New Technology" category goes to Aachen-based FibreCoat GmbH and Deutsche Basalt Faser GmbH from Sangerhausen (Saxony-Anhalt) for the joint development of an aluminum-coated basalt fiber. It combines the strength of basalt with the electrical conductivity of aluminum. According to FibreCoat, electromagnetic shielding as wallpaper in buildings in hospitals or server farms, among other places, should be up to 20 times cheaper than with conventional aluminum foil thanks to the new development. Another attractive and particularly fast-growing market is shielding solutions for electric cars. Robert Brüll, CEO of FibreCoat: "For a young company like ours, winning the Techtextil Innovation Award is an important milestone. We are honored to receive this prestigious award from the independent jury of experts. In particular, the confidence of our customers and visibility gained as a result are crucial for a start-up like FibreCoat on the road to market success."
 
More sustainable hygiene products such as diapers
Kelheim Fibres GmbH from Kelheim in Bavaria and the Saxon Textile Research Institute (STFI) in Chemnitz receive the Techtextil Innovation Award in the "New Concept" category for the development of novel, thermally bonded nonwovens based on cellulose for the production of reusable products with high absorbency. Consumers should no longer have to choose between high-performance or environmentally friendly products. Nature and performance of hygiene products go hand in hand thanks to the innovation of Kelheim, STFI and the Berlin-based start-up SUMO. Dr. Marina Crnoja-Cosic, Director New Business Development at Kelheim Fibres: "It is a great honor and pleasure for us to receive the Techtextil Innovation Award together with our partners. We see the award not only as a distinction for the project presented, but also as recognition of our innovation strategy. After all, in dialogue with partners we can react more quickly to current trends, develop in a more targeted manner and accelerate the commercialization of innovative solutions."

Waste from the automotive industry as a resource
Another Techtextil Innovation Award in the category "New Approaches on Sustainability & Circular Economy" honors a process that uses natural leather waste from the automotive industry to produce innovative textile coatings. It was developed by CITEVE, the Technology Center for Textile and Clothing in Portugal, and partners ERT Têxtil Portugal, CeNTI and CTIC (all Portugal). After CITEVE researchers discovered that cutting operations in the automotive industry generate a large amount of natural leather classified as waste, they sought a solution to reuse it. The expert jury recognizes the development as a successful industrial symbiosis: "Waste from one industrial sector is used here as a resource in another. The work of the CITEVE researchers thus supports an important trend toward a resource-efficient, environmentally friendly and sustainable textile industry."

Compostable textile coating
The Techtextil Innovation Award in the category "New Approaches on Sustainability & Circular Economy" goes to the textile research institute Centexbel (Belgium) for a bio-based and compostable dispersion for textile coatings and printing inks. The new development does not require solvents and brings a completely new type of polymer for coatings and printing inks to the market. According to the expert jury, the innovation is an important step for the textile coating industry towards more products based on renewable resources.

Fashion from pineapple peel
The Italian company Vérabuccia is honored in the "Performance Fashion Award" category for an innovative production process for the fashion and design sector. The patented process is designed to transform fruit waste into fashion highlights. A first material is the so-called "Ananasse". According to Vérabuccia, the special feature of this is that unlike other plant leathers, which tend to imitate real animal leather, it retains the original appearance of a pineapple skin; this emphasizes the origin of the raw material. With the Techtextil Innovation Award, the jury honored the unconventional thinking of the young Italian label, whose originality proves that innovative and appealing fashion can be developed from surprising materials.
 
100 percent compostable binder for nonwovens
In the "New Technology" category, the company OrganoClick (Sweden) receives the Techtextil Innovation Award for the development of a 100 percent bio-based binder for nonwovens applications that is made from waste components and is therefore said to be fully compostable. The innovation is designed to replace plastic-based binders. Because nonwovens are often made from non-degradable plastics, the Swedish company specializes in developing compostable material alternatives from wheat bran, fruit or crab shells, among others. This convinced the jury of the Techtextil Innovation Awards: "OrganoClick receives the award for its efforts to find bio-based raw material alternatives to replace oil-based materials."

Formaldehyde-free & bio-based coating system
The third award in the category "New Approaches on Sustainability & Circular Economy" goes to Deutschen Institute für Textil- und Faserforschung Denkendorf (DITF) from Baden-Württemberg and the company TotalEnergies - Cray Valley (France). Together, they have developed a novel, formaldehyde-free coating system. It is based on non-toxic hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) derived from biomass waste. These HMF-based dip formulations are capable of replacing formaldehyde-based adhesion promoters on a one-to-one basis. For background: in tires, conveyor belts or V-belts, rubber materials are reinforced by cord. The quality of such cord composite systems with high-strength fibers such as polyester, aramid or polyamide and rubber is determined by the adhesion properties of the fibers to the matrix. In the established manufacturing process, adhesion promoters made of resorcinol-formaldehyde-latex (RFL) are used. However, formaldehyde has been classified by the EU as a proven carcinogen and mutagen since 2014. The jury therefore welcomes the health and environmentally friendly new development. It contributes to a more sustainable textile industry and the reduction of harmful chemicals.

After a long pandemic-related dry spell, the Techtextil and Texprocess trade fairs, which are expected to attract more than 1,300 exhibitors from 51 countries in June 2022, are returning to Frankfurt with forward-looking formats.

Textination spoke to companies about their expectations of the fair, the product portfolio and innovations they will be presenting in Frankfurt in a few days' time.

Dr Marina Crnoja-Cosic kicks off the series. The chemist with a doctorate and many years of experience in fibre and application development has headed the New Business Development department of viscose speciality fibre manufacturer Kelheim Fibres since July 2020, at the same time strengthening its management team.

Dr Marina Crnoja-Cosic, what makes your company special and different - compared to competitors?
Kelheim Fibres is the longest producing viscose fibre manufacturer in the world. The fact that we, as a medium-sized company, are able to compete successfully with much larger companies is due to our strong focus on specialisation. We do not rely on the production of large quantities of standard fibres but use our 85 years of experience and our technological expertise to create special fibres that have very specific functionalities - many of which are tailor-made to customer requirements. This makes us the technology leader in some areas, such as short cut, or the market leader in others, such as tampon fibres.
 
To be successful with special fibres and to remain so in the future, innovation is a central topic for us. We follow the Open Innovation approach and seek close exchange with all partners along the value chain, but also with scientific institutes. This - and also our own compact but effective organisation - ensures efficiency, speed and agility. New ideas are commercialised faster and through the cooperation of all partners we get results that work not only in our heads but in reality, at all stages of processing and with the end customer.

And finally, we produce exclusively in Germany. This means that our fibres are subject to strict German environmental legislation and at the same time contribute to a stable European supply chain.

How do you define Textile Leadership for your company?
For me, leadership is about leading the way, breaking new ground, inspiring others and 'taking them with us'.
Our guiding principle is to be the driving force behind the best individual solutions for a healthy lifestyle while protecting the environment for future generations.
          
This is exactly what we do with our Open Innovation concept: together with our partners, with customers and in networks, we actively search for "unmet needs", unfulfilled consumer needs, and create innovative products that meet these needs. Sustainability is a key focus in this process. Our fibres are made from renewable raw materials and are biodegradable, which puts them right on the pulse of the times. In contrast to purely natural fibres, however, we can specifically functionalise them during the production process. In this way, the consumer receives an environmentally friendly product, but does not have to make any compromises in terms of performance. We already offer a real alternative to petroleum-based products in a variety of different applications - and we are driven to develop further applications in which our fibres can contribute to the benefit of customers and the environment.

Which products/product innovations will you present at the fair?
We have a variety of themes in store: one focus is on wellbeing, a trend that has been gaining more and more fans, and not just since Corona. Textiles should not only protect us from the cold and prying eyes, they should actively increase our well-being. This is what our CELLIANT® Viscose does, for example, the first viscose fibre with an infrared effect sustainably integrated into the fibre. Textiles with CELLIANT® Viscose promote better blood circulation and a better oxygen supply to the cells. This leads to higher performance, faster recovery and better sleep.

The new Zzzleepwear collection from the renowned underwear manufacturer mey makes use of the properties of CELLIANT® Viscose. Incidentally, it is also an example of how the close cooperation of all partners involved accelerates the path from fibre development to the finished end product: There were only a few months between the presentation of the new fibre and the launch of the Zzzleepwear collection.

In addition, we present short-cut fibres that can give papers or wipes the desired properties in a very targeted way. With our short-cut technology we can, for example, produce fibres that provide the necessary strength in tea bags or fibres for flushable wipes, i.e., wipes that can be conveniently disposed of via the toilet without the risk of clogging. In both of these examples, biodegradability is again a key aspect - who wants to drink microplastics in their tea?

Another focus is on hygiene products, and here especially on feminine hygiene. We want to accompany women and respond to their individually different and changing needs. We have been the market leader in the tampon sector for decades. We use the resulting know-how for a whole range of other AHP, i.e., applications that require increased absorbency. Our fibres provide the basis for comfortable and at the same time biodegradable disposable articles. In addition, and in response to the needs of environmentally conscious consumers, we have now developed fibres for reusable hygiene products.

One example of this is our fibres for fully bio-based menstrual underwear. Here we have perfectly matched various speciality fibres to the different layers of period underwear: Fibres that quickly absorb fluid and wick it away from the body are used as well as fibres that absorb large amounts of fluid and do not release it again even under pressure.
 
Another new development follows the same principle, namely the absorbent pad of the reusable Sumo nappy. Like the nappy itself, this insert consists entirely of bio-based materials and is washable.
In addition to putting together the ideal combination of fibres, we have also developed a new nonwoven construction together with the Berlin-based start-up Sumo and the Saxon Textile Research Institute STFI. With its open structure, it gives our speciality fibres enough space to absorb a lot of liquid, but at the same time it provides the necessary stability to survive many washing cycles undamaged. We have, so to speak, transferred nonwovens from the world of single use to the world of reusables, thus opening up new perspectives. In tests, the performance of this absorbent pad surpasses the alternatives - bio-based and synthetic - available on the market.

From Reusable, the logical path leads on to Recycling. We would also like to promote our cooperation with the Swedish textile recycling company Renewcell at Techtextil. We are working together on the large-scale production of high-quality viscose fibres from Renewcell's 100% textile recyclate Circulose®. This makes us a pioneer on the way to a completely closed European loop in which textile waste is turned into new Circulose® fibres.

What goals do you want to achieve with the trade fair presentation?
We want to see how the industry has evolved, what the current and future trends are and how the technical textile sector can respond to the issues of sustainability, circularity and the EU textile strategy - and what contribution our fibres can make to all these issues.

Techtextil is where the entire industry comes together, right across the supply chain. We meet our partners here from both the textile and nonwovens sectors. The scientific landscape is also very well represented. This makes Techtextil an event with a very high level of innovation.

We are specifically looking for partners here who want to follow our path of innovation and commercialisation together with us. And last but not least, we are very much looking forward to meeting our customers, partners, colleagues as well as representatives of science and the press once again in person.