Smart Textiles for Regional Industry and Smart Specialisation Sectors
Smart Textiles for Regional Industry and Smart Specialisation Sectors is a project supported by European Regional Development Fund involving 5 institutes and one company within the France-Channel-England region (CNRS, Universities of Rouen and Southampton, INSA, IFREMER, and SplashMaps). It brings together specialists from France and England to explore opportunities for the commercialisation of Smart Textiles and Smart Inks.
SmartT will develop generic technologies suitable for exploitation in sectors such as healthcare, fashion, sport, safety-ware, advertising, mapmaking and marine activities. Our engagement with SMEs in the Programme zone via events, one-to-one consultations and collaborations will be focussed on expanding their portfolio of innovative products and services.
SmartT is led in the UK by Prof. David Harrowven and Prof. Steve Beeby (Southampton) and in France by Prof. Isabelle Chataigner and Dr. Julien LeGros (Rouen). Rebecca Mayrhofer (Southampton) is the Head Project Manager aided by Louise Mury-Decouflet (CNRS, lead Project Manager in France).
The partnership is co-ordinated by the University of Southampton through their Smart Textiles and Organic Chemistry Teams. CNRS and University of Rouen add expertise in high pressure, flash and computational chemistry while INSA Rouen Normandie and IFREMER add skills in self-healing biobased coatings, surface characterisation and biological assays respectively. Entrepreneurial SME, SplashMaps Ltd., identify applications and markets beyond those already envisaged, and bring a focus within their own areas of specialisation in navigation, military tourism and the gift markets. SmartT will help them and others to develop new products and services while advancing a flagship project aimed at developing a drug-free anti-infective bandage prototype.
Funding body: European Regional Development Fund via its Interreg V France (Channel) England programme
The project has a budget of 5,462,645.34 € with 3,769,225.27 € comes from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) via the Interreg France (Channel) England programme.