The R&D activities of Centexbel-VKC support the textile, plastic converting and related companies with the explicit aim to reinforce the innovation capacity of small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) and to assist the industry in its transition to a sustainable future. As a research institution created by and for the industry, we initiate and participate in publicly funded pre-competitive research projects and in market-oriented contract research projects.

To guarantee total impartiality and to avoid any conflict of interest, we explicitly exclude all product development in those areas covered by the CE certification scope for which we are accredited.

Het project Circularity in & with new materials wil het gebruik van recyclaat als grondstof stimuleren in de kunststofverwerkende en textielindustrie om deze sector te laten uitgroeien tot voorloper in het sluiten van kringlopen.

The cluster ‘Innovatieve coatings’ aims to increase competitiveness and to create economic added value by promoting creativity and innovation in terms of products, processes and applications.

FIBFAB will improve the performance of PLA based fibres (there are no commercial PLA grades with enough thermal and mechanical resistance with a competitive price to be used in textile applications) by adapting its processability and functionality, maintaining biodegradability properties, to reach the same process speed as the current materials (PES).

The technical aim of this Cornet project is to encode textiles structures and store data about e.g. recycling processes inside the product. The technology will be demonstrated in carpets and mattresses.

According to European Commission, 13.1 million tons of poultry meat was produced in the European Union (EU-28) in 2014 with an estimated generation of 3.1 million tons feather waste. At present the majority of poultry feathers are converted into low nutritional value animal food or disposed in landfills, causing environmental and health hazards.

ECO-DWOR will examine the use of various technologies for textile and leather finishing to replace C8 and other fluorocarbons.

The LIBRE project will utilise lignin-rich side stream feedstock from the pulp and paper industry, blended with a biopolymer precursor fibre, to create a more resource-efficient and sustainable carbon fibre production process.

Bringing back the patient at the heart of the healthcare system and ensuring optimal follow-up during hospitalisation

This pre-standard study aims at developing an analytic test method to determine perfluorinated compounds including the required extraction and purification methods.

The TEXTOS project will develop an innovative 3D-matrix for tissue technology to reconstruct, regenerate or replace the tissue structures of deficient organs. This matrix consists of carrier material produced from natural polymers made from crops.