The North Carolina State University (NC State) will serve as a core partner on a regional research effort to advance US capacity for textile innovation that ensures environmental sustainability by recycling waste materials into fibres for new textiles.
- The effort will receive up to $15 million for two years and up to $160 million over 10 years from the National Science Foundation (NSF).
- Potential key outcomes of the North Carolina Textile Innovation and Sustainability Engine include a decrease in the negative environmental effects of the textiles sector, including a reduction in the sector’s carbon footprint; increased US production of textile products; growth in the number of textile jobs; a reduction in the amount of textiles put into the landfill; and the development of new product lines that use circular materials.
- The project work will entail capitalising on the circular economy, or the process by which waste becomes a raw material input, extending the lifecycle of products through improved design and durability, and ensuring systems that facilitate their reuse.
- This is besides working to reinvigorate regional textile sectors, leverage decades of industrial expertise, restructure existing supply chains and commercialise innovations.
The engine: The Engine aims to disrupt and revolutionise the $96 billion textiles industry, driving advances in smart textiles, wearable technology, medical textiles and protective textiles.
- It will be led by the Industrial Commons, a non-profit organisation with a strong reputation within the textiles sector for being a hub of regional, rural innovation with deep local, national and sectoral knowledge and relationships.
- The Engine’s region of service encompasses the textile supply chain covering central and western North Carolina, and stretches into the Appalachian regions of upstate South Carolina, eastern Tennessee and southern Virginia.
- The region boasts the largest concentration of textile workers in the US with more than 27,000 workers and an additional 30,000 employees in adjacent industries, spanning almost 2,000 companies.
The players: At NC State, the Zeis Textiles Extension unit, the Textile Protection and Comfort Center, and research labs within NC State’s Wilson College of Textiles will provide development, fabrication, testing and training services to the region to help “green” the textile industry.
- Other core partner institutions include Manufacturing Solutions Center, which is affiliated with Catawba Valley Community College; Gaston College’s Textile Technology Center; Western Piedmont Community College; Bear Fiber; and RTI International.
The project: The project will include an emphasis on increasing product durability, expanding repair capabilities to keep products in use and developing better systems and processes for textile reclamation.
- The Engine will also focus on increased reuse of materials including additional material from the landfill and toward downcycling options such as production of nonwovens.
- It will research and advance additive chemistries (including PFAS), new materials, manufacturing and operations, and chemical and mechanical recycling.
- The Engine will also be forward looking with textile application in, for example, fibre-based materials used in wind turbine blades or health monitoring of roadways; bridges and structural components; nanofibres used in battery components such as the separators, anodes and cathodes to improve storage performance; and geotextiles used in hardscape and landscape applications to prevent pests from accessing crops without compromising water and light penetration.
What they said:
The Engine also includes partnerships across community colleges, manufacturers, brands, economic development and state government, among others. The team will have the infrastructure and ties to rapidly develop, revitalise and scale a cutting edge and environmentally sustainable textile industry that can be competitive in the global economy. That can lead to new jobs, new opportunities, and economic prosperity for our citizens.
— Randy Woodson
Chancellor
North Carolina State University
Through these NSF Engines, NSF aims to expand the frontiers of technology and innovation and spur economic growth across the nation through unprecedented investments in people and partners. NSF Engines hold significant promise to elevate and transform entire geographic regions into world-leading hubs of innovation.
— Sethuraman Panchanathan
Director
National Science Foundation
The Engine also holds promise to have broader impacts such as reduced unemployment, increased median household income and increased weekly wages for the region of service, and can also be a model for other rural communities seeking to transform their traditional manufacturing sectors by capitalizing on modern consumer and corporate demand for new systems of production that are both environmentally sustainable and equitable.
— Melissa Sharp
Assistant Director
Zeis Textiles Extension
The North Carolina Textile Innovation and Sustainability Engine grant will bring the critical investment piece that will enable us to translate our research and development into new, more sustainable products, processes and businesses. I am proud that we will be focusing our work on lifting up rural communities as well as advancing an industry that is essential not only to our country’s advanced manufacturing base, but also our homeland security.
— David Hinks
Dean
Wilson College of Textiles
