From the Sector

The AVK – Industrievereinigung Verstärkte Kunststoffe e.V. – has once again announced the winners of its prestigious Innovation Awards. Decided by an expert jury, the awards recognise and honour sustainable innovations in three categories: “Innovative Products/Applications”, “Innovative Processes” and “Research and Science”.

Overview of all the winners in the three categories:

Category “Innovative Products/Applications”
1st Place: “Directly-cooled electric motor with integral lightweight housing made of fibre reinforced polymers - DEmiL” – developed by the Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology ICT, Pfinztal, Germany, in partnership with the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology and Sumitomo Bakelite Co., Ltd.*

2nd Place: “Intrinsically Reprocessable, Repairable and Recyclable (3R) thermoset composites for more Competitive and Sustainable Industries” – developed by cidetec, Donostia-San Sebastian, Spain*

3rd Place: “Fireproof composite metal hybrid structure – LEO® fire protection sandwich with integrated Hyconnect steel-glass hybrid connector” – developed by SAERTEX GmbH & Co. KG and Hyconnect GmbH.*

Category “Innovative Processes”
1st Place: “Robotised Injection Moulding (ROBIN)” – developed by Robin, Dresden with the Institute for Lightweight Engineering and Polymer Technology at the TU Dresden*

2nd Place: “Omega stringer from the roll” – developed by the German Aerospace Center, Braunschweig*

3rd Place: “Hybrid die-casting – manufacturing of intrinsic CFRP-aluminium composite structures in aluminium high-pressure die-casting” – developed by Faserinstitut Bremen e. V. with Fraunhofer IFAM, Bremen*

Category “Research and Science”:
1st Place: “New high-temperature resistant UP resins and toughening agents” – developed by Münster University of Applied Sciences with BASF SE Global New Business Development, Leibniz Institute for Polymer Research e. V., Saertex multicom GmbH*

2nd Place: “Scientific basis for the industrial application of the thermoplastic resin transfer moulding (T-RTM) process” – developed by Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology ICT, Pfinztal*

3rd Place: “The material- and energy-efficient production of turbine struts by the integrative combination of thermoset fibre reinforced materials” – developed by the Institute of Polymer Technology, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg with the German Aerospace Center, Gubesch Group, Schmidt WFT, Siebenwurst, Raschig.

Award ceremony on the Internet for the first time
For the first time, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the award ceremony took place as an online event on 12 November 2020. Many of the award winners’ innovations will be presented again in this year’s AVK Innovation Award brochure. This will be available online: https://www.avk-tv.de/innovationaward.php

*Please see attached document for more information.

Anker, Devan and Shark Solutions teamed up to create the world’s first flame retardant aviation carpet using a recycled binder. Inspired by the knowledge and the needs of the aviation market, Anker motivated to achieve this new goal together. The PVB binder reuses laminated glass, from windshields and architectural/building glass, that otherwise would go to landfill.

German carpet manufacturer Anker is the first company to offer flame retardant carpets for aviation that are made with a recycled binder. In the search for a more sustainable binder, Anker discovered the PVB from Shark Solutions, a Danish cleantech company focused on giving a new life to post-consumer PVB. Properties of the aviation carpet with PVB as binder are the same as those of traditional non-sustainable carpets. The market has been looking for this type of solutions for a long time and market introduction has already started. Anker will introduce well known and special developed styles of aviation carpets with PVB and plan to take out traditional non-sustainable aviation carpets stepwise as soon as possible.

Shark’s PVB reuses laminated glass, from windshields and architectural/building glass, that otherwise would go to landfill. The non-toxic binder (no chlorine or phthalates) is fully recyclable and thus lives up to the future standards of the industry.

Textile innovator Devan Chemicals, known for its tailor-made flame retardant solutions, was called in to develop the flame retardant back coating, which is compliant with the Airbus and Boeing safety standards. “Based on many years of experience and competences in customer related developments, improving recycling rates is getting more and more important”, says Dirk Vanpachtenbeke, R&D manager Flame Retardants at Devan. “We are very proud that, together with Anker and Shark Solutions, we can contribute to this rising demand for products that meet the standards of a circular economy solution.”

In other news, Anker and Devan are already working on a new project, which includes Devan’s antimicrobial/viral-reducing technology. Recently, Devan published test results on the activity of their technology (BI-OME®) against SARS-CoV-2 and other viruses. According to independent testing, BI-OME is proven to achieve 99% and higher virus reduction, including of SARS-COV-2, on samples before washing and retains 98.5% even after 25 wash cycles. This technology has been recognized with the 2020 European Technology Innovation Leadership Award by Frost & Sullivan.

Kelheim Fibres has been selected as a finalist for the Sustainability Heroes Award in the category “Sustainable Innovation”. The award is presented by DQS (German Association for Sustainability) and DGQ (German Association for Quality) to pioneers in sustainability and aims to further encourage active involvement in this field.
 
The viscose speciality fibres manufacturer has secured the selection with its innovative plant-based fibres that can substantially contribute to a plastic-free future in absorbent hygiene products such as femcare or incontinence products.

In contrast to other plant-based fibres, viscose fibres can be precisely modified and functionalised during the production process. They can be adapted to meet the exact requirements of the single components of a hygiene product in terms of their liquid management properties (from water repellent to highly absorbent) and so match the performance of synthetic fibres that are still used in the majority of these single-use products.

Whereas today, environmentally conscious consumers must often decide between feeling safe and a clear conscience, the Bavarian fibre experts are actively developing more and more products that do justice to both: Kelheim combines sustainably manufactured and completely biodegradable fibres with the technical performance of synthetic fibres. The aim is to help to reduce the use of crude-oil-based plastics in single-use products and their negative impact on the environment.

Belgian textile innovator Devan Chemicals was lauded by Frost & Sullivan for its antimicrobial technology with proven quaternized silane chemistry, known under its trade name as BI-OME®.

RONSE, BELGIUM – The non-leaching attributes of the technology coupled with its ability to reduce microbial mutation make it a potential candidate for textiles where durability and safe human contact are highly valued.

Based on its recent analysis of the European antimicrobial technology for the textile market, Frost & Sullivan recognizes the Belgium-headquartered Devan Chemicals NV (Devan) with the 2020 European Technology Innovation Leadership Award. Devan’s highly relevant antimicrobial technology addresses issues concerning the contamination of PPE and textiles, including the spread of drug-resistant bacteria, viral transmissions, and hospital-acquired infections (HAIs). Its quat-silane technology, due to its non-migrating behaviour, physically punctures the microorganism cell to destroy it without interfering with cell DNA. Notably, it eliminates the adverse effects of leaching antimicrobials while providing high efficiency in the range of 99.9 percent to 99.99 percent, even after multiple washes.

"By providing non-migrating antimicrobial technology for the textile industry, Devan plugs the safety and performance gaps inherent in current inorganic and organic antimicrobial agents. Its antimicrobial technology, unlike silver- or triclosan-based technology, comprises non-migrating monomers and prepolymers such as organo-functional silane," said Monami Dey, Industry Manager, Frost & Sullivan. "The organo-silane polymers are covalently bonded and polymerized to the textile surface as a coating via padding, exhaust, and spraying techniques. The coating forms a non-leaching reactive surface and destroys the microbes on contact, without releasing harmful components into the environment."

Devan CEO Sven Ghyselinck is very happy with the award: “The best practice award is a nice recognition of the hard work we did in the last 6 months to evaluate the performance against viral activity. It’s great to see our efforts didn’t go unnoticed.”

Earlier this month Devan published new test results confirming the high performance virus-reducing capabilities of its BI-OME fabric coating technology on both unwashed and intensely washed fabrics. The Belgian company has worked closely with a series of international third party laboratories to test different fabric substrates against a wide range of enveloped viruses. Before washing, samples treated with Devan BI-OME score very good to excellent (99% and higher according to ISO 18184) results on virus reduction. Different substrates, like polyester, cotton and polycottons, were exposed to enveloped viruses like SARS-COV-2 (known to cause COVID-19), Feline Corona, Vaccinia (the EU standard for enveloped viruses) and Porcine Respiratory viruses. After 30minutes, BI-OME already reduced 99.96% of the activity of SARS-COV-2.

After washing, a decrease in virus reduction performance of coating technologies is normal and expected. However, BI-OME is confirmed to deliver only a minimal reduction, retaining up to 98.5% virus reduction even when the fabric is washed 25 times.

"Devan is working towards sustainability and green chemistry. For instance, its technology does not contain any harmful solvents such as formaldehyde or polychlorinated phenols and fulfills the regulatory obligations of the EU BPR," noted Dey. "Its commitment to promoting sustainability in textile finishes with a strong focus on GMO-free, kosher, as well as halal certifications, and recyclability has given the company an edge in launching new products at an accelerated pace to match customers’ most pressing concerns and demands."

One of those innovations is BI-OME NTL (natural), a natural, bio-based antimicrobial solution that guarantees an optimal freshness and hygiene for textiles. The active ingredient is the well-known Linseed oil, obtained from the dried, ripened seeds of the flax plant. The active ingredients in BI-OME NTL are GMO free, Halal, Kosher and recyclable.

For the third time in a row, the Lenzing Group was awarded gold status in the EcoVadis CSR rating. The assessment is further evidence that the company is one of the top performers in the field of sustainability worldwide.

Lenzing is thus one of the leading two percent of all assessed companies in its industry.
The assessment covers the four most important CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) practices:

• environment
• fair working conditions and human rights
• ethics and sustainable procurement

“This award makes us very proud and encourages us to continue on our path to becoming a provider of environmentally friendly specialty fibers. At Lenzing, we look beyond fibers and take responsibility for our children and grandchildren by
standing up resolutely against the shortcomings of our time. This attitude is part of our strategic principles and we will continue to work hard to make a sustainable contribution to the environment and society”, says Stefan Doboczky, CEO of the Lenzing Group.

Lenzing’s ambitious climate target represents an important component of the company’s strategy and the responsibility towards future generations. In the 2019 financial year, Lenzing became the world’s first producer of wood-based cellulosic fibers to strategically commit to a climate-neutral production. This vision is to be put into practice by 2050. By 2030, the company aims to achieve an interim goal of reducing emissions by 50 percent per ton of product compared to 2017.

In 2019, Lenzing was once again rated number one in the world in the “Hot Button Report” of the Canadian NGO Canopy, another highly regarded ranking. In this ranking, Canopy grades the world’s 32 largest producers of wood-based fibers with respect to their success in achieving sustainable wood and pulp sourcing.

Reinach, Switzerland - Archroma, a global leader in color and specialty chemicals towards sustainable solutions, today announced a new collaboration with Esprit, the global fashion clothing brand, who selected the EarthColors® range for its ‘I AM SUSTAINABLE’ capsule collection.

Esprit was founded in California by couple Susie and Doug Tompkins in 1968, and is now headquartered in Germany and Hong Kong, with a presence in 40 countries around the globe. Esprit creates laid-back, high-quality essentials that reflect its core values of sustainability, equality and freedom of choice. The brand developed its first eco-conscious collection made of 100% organic cotton, back in the early 90’s.

Archroma’s EarthColors® range came to public attention for being the Gold Winner of the OutDoor Industry Award 2017, Sustainable Innovations category. The range is regularly featured by brands such as Kathmandu, G-Star and Ternua, who are willing to explore truly innovative and authentic color options for more eco-conscious casual wear collections. Archroma’s EarthColors® is a line of patented plant-based dyes, sourced from up to 100 percent renewable resources. Archroma developed EarthColors® using non-edible waste products, from agriculture and herbal industries, to replace petroleum derived raw materials; which are the conventional raw materials used to synthesize dyes currently. This gives brands an alternative when looking for more natural ways of dyeing garments.

The colors available in the capsule collection created by Esprit: mauve, beige, blue, khaki, pink and blush hues, are made from the non-edible parts of nutshells, almond shells, rosemary, saw palmetto, bitter orange and beetroot, left over from agriculture industry or herbal extraction.

The brand is working on future fall/winter and spring/summer collections with more exciting articles to discover for nature-inspired consumers.

“Colors traditionally made with plants come with some limitations in terms of color reproducibility, fastness and they require huge amounts of plants to produce the quantities needed at industrial scale”, comments Kristina Seidler-Lynders, Manager Social & Environmental Sustainability at Esprit. “So when Archroma presented us their EarthColors®, we were excited to have found a technology that would allow us to explore authentic colors synthesized from plants rather than petroleum.”

“The whole team at Esprit really embraced the possibilities of EarthColors®”, says Dion Cragg, Brand Solutions Europe, Brand & Performance Textile Specialties at Archroma. “They truly pushed the boundaries in adopting the concept across every possible article, from t-shirts and scarves to canvas sandals and bags. The end result simply looks amazing, and we are so incredibly proud to be able to support such creativity with our nature-based innovation - because it’s our nature!”

• Joint proposal of TUD and RWTH Aachen University

On 29 May, the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) decided to fund the Collaborative Research Centre (CRC)/Transregio 280 "Carbon reinforced concrete" at Technische Universität Dresden, short TUD, and RWTH Aachen University with the participation of the Institut für Textiltechnik, short ITA, with 12 million euros over the next four years.

The CRC/Transregio 280 “Design Strategies for Material-Minimised Carbon Reinforced Concrete Structures - Principles of a New Approach to Construction” breaks with the traditional way of designing reinforced concrete plants. The interdependence of reinforcement and matrix is being investigated in depth and a completely new design and construction strategy for building with carbon reinforced concrete is being developed.

Carbon reinforced concrete enables completely new design and construction possibilities in the building industry. The reasons for this are its very high strength and the possibility of a very low concrete overlay of only a few millimetres, as carbon, unlike structural steel, does not rust. However, the successful use of the new material, which was awarded the German Future Prize in 2016, requires completely new design and production strategies, which are being investigated in the CRC/Transregio.

Up to now, textile reinforcements have been coated and cured prior to component manufacture. This process is called offline consolidation. These stiff semi-finished products are not suitable for the production of complex components based on new, digital and continuous manufacturing processes (including 3D concrete printing and concrete extrusion). Therefore, ITA is investigating in the sub-project B02 of the CRC/Transregio how forming and consolidation steps are shifted in time by prepreg systems into the concreting process and how they can be applied within the new digital continuous manufacturing processes. In addition to established curing mechanisms, such as by heat or UV radiation, new approaches are also being researched. These new approaches include activation via the alkalinity of the concrete, microwaves and induction

The TUD and RWTH Aachen were awarded the grant on the basis of many years of experience in the research field of textile reinforced concrete. The material textile reinforced concrete was developed in two special research areas at both universities from 1999-2011 and was first fundamentally researched.

19 individual institutes are involved in the CRC/Transregio 280. The spokesman of the TUD is Professor Dr Manfred Curbach, the spokesman of the RWTH is Professor Dr Josef Hegger.

• AACOMA - Accelerate advanced composite manufacturing
• EMR Region Belgium, the Netherlands & Germany area hot spot for the future of lightweight materials and technologies

The Euregio Meuse-Rhine provides a huge potential with its many highly innovative, leading companies and especially SMEs which are active in the area of advanced material manufacturing in many industrial sectors, such as Automotive, Aerospace, Electronics, Building and Infrastructure, etc. The advanced material sector is growing, with a consolidated offer, ranging from raw material producers over technology development to production, research and development as well as industrial OEMs.

Interreg Euregio Meuse-Rhine invests EUR 96 million from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) in the period 2014-2020. Through the investments in cross-border projects, the European Union invests in the economic development, innovation, territorial development and social inclusion and education of this region.

Project

The Euregio Meuse-Rhine is a potential hot-spot for the further development of advanced material and process technologies. Technical Centers and Institutes around Aachen/Germany, Liège/Belgium and Eindhoven/The Netherlands were awarded with this new project AACOMA.

Innovative material design and advanced manufacturing provide large opportunities for SMEs. The AACOMA project kick-off took place in Aachen at the Campus of the RWTH University of technology in 1 Q 2020. The aim of the project, which is running for 3 years until 2023 with a budget of €3 Mio, is to connect SMEs with innovation hot-spots like institutes and technical centers.
Seven partners from all three regions will carry the project out: Centexbel is the project leader and gets support by University of Liège, Sirris and Flanders Make from Belgium, as well as Fontys University of Applied Science and AMIBM of Maastricht University in the Netherlands and AMAC in Germany.

Statements

Bernard Paquet, Project Coordinator from Centexbel/ Belgium stated:
“Centexbel, with a strong experience in textile and composites, will identify with its Interreg partners and an advisory board of international experts several demonstrators which will enable an accelerated advanced manufacturing of composite parts. This could include new materials and intermediates, high performance additives, bio-based products and new composites by additive manufacturing”.

Michael Effing, Managing Director of AMAC/ Germany said:
“The major goal of the project is to connect around 200 innovative SMEs with each other and establish the links to the world-class institutes in the EMR region. We will facilitate 6 roadshow events, addressing key topics like automated manufacturing, additive manufacturing or bio-based material systems combined with match making and training events. The first roadshow will be held on September 24, 2020 at the Aachen Campus of the RWTH University of Technology.”

Prof. Gunnar Seide from the AMIBM/The Netherlands continued:  
“Our AMIBM offers already an international master program on bio-based materials. The AACOMA project will be an important element for transborder research and will identify new players in the value chain coming from the EMR region. Innovative companies find markets for their new bio-based building blocks, chemicals and polymers. Their success stories and upcoming technological breakthroughs are needed for a sustainable future.”

• The “Newcomer Award” will still be presented at the 8th Convention & Fair for Hightech Textiles
• Chemnitz organisers considering forward-looking forums using the “mtex+” brand

The 8th mtex+ Convention & Fair for Hightech Textiles, which was scheduled to be held on 9-10 June 2020, will not take place because of the corona crisis. “We’ve made this decision following in-depth consultations with the members of the advisory board who are working in the textile sector; they were also opposed to moving the date to the autumn because of the unforeseeable consequences arising from the crisis,” says  André Rehn, Head of Sales for Trade Fairs & Congresses at the organiser, C³ GmbH, Chemnitz.

“Cancelling the event is a particularly severe blow for us, as the “mtex+” was supposed to be held with a modernised concept and a very attractive programme at our new Carlowitz Congresscenter at the heart of Chemnitz for the first time. The considerable economic loss associated with this is naturally painful for us too. However, we will be presenting our “mtex+” “Newcomer Award” to the prize-winners at the next possible, suitable opportunity. 15 students and graduates from all over Germany have taken part in the young people’s competition with creative ideas for recycling, upcycling and downcycling textiles. We’re also now considering special events, which could operate using our well-known “mtex+” brand in future. Sustainability in the textile value-added chain as well as health and protective textiles made by the domestic market are obvious, forward-looking topics in this field.”

Green Product Award & Green Concept Award 2020: Teilnehmerrekord mit Einreichungen aus 52 Ländern. Die Gewinner stehen fest – ein goldenes Kleid aus Algen, die erste vegane Lederalternative aus Kaktus, Jack Wolfskins Tec LAB, uvm.

Die Gewinner des Green Produkt Awards und des Green Concept Awards stehen fest. Mit einer Rekordbeteiligung von 1463 Einreichungen haben sich so viele Teilnehmer wie nie zuvor beworben. Insgesamt stammen die Ideen und Produkte, Konzepte und Materialien für die Gestaltung einer nachhaltigeren Zukunft aus 6 Kontinenten.

Einblicke in die grüne Zukunft
Wie sieht eine grüne Zukunft aus und was passt in ein „Future Village“ (Award-Thema)? Gewinner und Nominierte sind geben Beispiele aus den Kategorien Architektur, Bad, Elektronik, Fashion, Kinder, Konsumgüter, Mobilität, Outdoor, Büro und Interior. Zwei Beispiele für das, was heute bereits möglich ist und die Zukunft bewegen wird:

• „The Golden Phoenix“ – ein goldenes Kleid mit Pailletten aus Algen und Stoff aus Peace-Silk Seide, das ganz natürlich mit Kukurma gefärbt wurde. Das erste Green Product Club Projekt. 
• Gewinner Material „Desserto“ – die vegane Lederalternative aus Kaktus ist reif für den Einsatz bei Interior-Bezügen, Kleidung und Accessoires.

Awards für ein Netzwerk voll guter Ideen 
Die Awards stehen nicht nur für außergewöhnliche Leistungen, sondern sollen weitaus mehr bewirken. Dazu Nils Bader, Initiator des Awards: „Mit den Awards präsentieren wir bestehende, zukünftige und natürlich nachhaltige Alternativen und vernetzen die Akteure. Mit der Selection wollen wir überraschen und zeigen, was alles schon möglich ist. Niemand soll gehen, wie er oder sie kam - sondern künftig mit einem anderen Blick planen, gestalten und letztendlich auch konsumieren.“