Textile Factory 7.0 (T7), a pioneering transformation project for the German textile and clothing industry, is being launched in the Monforts neighbourhood in Mönchengladbach. The aim is to further develop and implement CO₂-neutral, circular and at the same time economically viable textile production in Germany. The official kick-off will take place on 19 March as part of the "Textile Theme Table" and is aimed in particular at companies along the textile value chain.
The fashion and textile industry is responsible for around ten per cent of CO₂ emissions worldwide - more than international aviation and shipping combined. At the same time, companies in Germany are under considerable competitive pressure. This is precisely where Textile Factory 7.0 comes in: It brings together research, industry and regional players to test innovative technologies and production processes in a practical orientation and bring them into application more quickly. The aim is to consistently combine sustainability and economic efficiency and to enable locally anchored, climate-friendly production.
Four core modules are at the centre of T7: On-Demand Manufacturing, MicroFactory Engineering, Digital Textiles and Biosphere. New technologies are developed, tested and optimised along the entire value chain in a functional textile real laboratory. Among other things, robotics, digital process chains and biotechnological processes are used to put the circular economy into practice and use resources more efficiently.
Companies benefit directly from the practical orientation: they can participate as pilot partners, contribute their own use cases and test new production solutions under real conditions. "With Textile Factory 7.0, we are creating a platform on which companies can work together with research facilities to advance concrete solutions for climate-friendly production. Our aim is to bring innovations into industrial application more quickly and thus strengthen Germany's competitiveness in the long term," says Dr.-Ing. habil. Maike Rabe, Professor of Textile Finishing and Ecology, Head of the Textile and Clothing Research Institute at The Hochschule Niederrhein (HSNR). Rabe is the project manager of Textile Factory 7.0 at HSNR.
Textile Factory 7.0 is also making an important contribution to structural change in the Rhenish mining area. Under the motto "From coal to AI", new prospects for industrial value creation and skilled jobs are being created in the region.
T7 is a joint project of the Research Institute for Textile and Clothing (FTB) at The Hochschule Niederrhein, the Institute for Textile Technology (ITA) at RWTH Aachen University, the Association of the Northwest German Textile and Clothing Industry, the Association of the Rhineland Textile and Clothing Industry, the Textile Academy NRW and the Mönchengladbach Economic Development Agency.
The project is sponsored by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE) via the "STARK" funding guideline for strengthening transformation dynamics and new departures in coal mining areas and at coal-fired power plant sites, the state of North Rhine-Westphalia within the remit of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Industry, Climate Protection and Energy (MWIKE) of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia in accordance with the framework guideline for implementing the North Rhine-Westphalia Coal Regions Investment Act (InvKG) and by the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR).
