Accelerating Smart Textile Entrepreneurship by Innovative Cross-regional, Cross-disciplinary and Cross-cultural Value Chains

ended

SmartX will match smart textiles technology with end market demand by filling the current industrial manufacturing gap. To realise this, SmartX will establish a novel industrial value chain composed of SMEs and start-ups from textiles, design, (micro)electronics, data processing, IoT, manufacturing technology, distribution and end user sectors. The SmartX core activity is the funding a portfolio of Trailblazer innovation projects involving at least 40 SMEs, which will pioneer one or more stages of the novel smart textiles value chain. Independent external experts will select these small cross-sectorial, cross-cultural and cross-regional innovation actions that will be co-funded by SmartX via an open call system. The projects will be supported from start to end via the SmartX Coaching Approach covering all relevant multidisciplinary aspects and delivered by specially trained cluster managers. We will focus on protective wear, industrial applications and healthcare & wellbeing end markets. Trailblazer project formation will be supported by an open collaboration platform (target > 150 company members) that will support smart textiles value chain building. The platform will be maintained and extended beyond smartX. We will build on the successful WORTH project for implementing small funding schemes. We will apply the award-winning Innovation Potential Audit and will link with REGIOTEX, a thematic partnership of 15 regions under the S3 Platform on Industrial Modernisation to leverage follow up funding. SmartX unites 8 clusters (accessing over 60.000 SMEs across Europe), 2 RTOs (for technological assistance) and 3 innovation support entities. The wearables market is estimated at ca €150 billion (2026). Assuming smart textiles will take 10%, the new value chain targeted by SmartX represents in Europe ca €5.5 billion or ca 22.000 jobs. US and Asia are setting up significant public and private investments, so European action is needed not to miss this value and job creating opportunity.