Last week of November 2023, RELIANCE partner Centexbel held a workshop at their premises in Zwijnaarde, Belgium called “The Horizonverkenning Groene innovaties voor textiel en kunststoffen” (Horizon exploration Green innovation for textiles and plastics).  The intent of the workshop was to keep the textile and plastic industry informed of new developments in the field of green innovations in textiles and plastics.

In addition to the recurring themes of patents concerning green innovations, attention was paid to the latest advancements in recyclable, recycled and bio-based materials, textile fibre recycling technologies and sustainable innovations presented at the ITMA fair. The event was attended by a few representatives of the research community as well as more than 30 representatives of the textile, plastics and chemical industry. During the workshop, the development of biobased and biodegradable polyurethane coatings was presented by David De Smet, who highlighted Centexbel’s work on developing bio-based polyurethane coatings for textiles within RELIANCE while also introducing the project’s main objectives.